Protect and Survive V: Draw Blood Tonight
by RowenaR
Summary: Laura Cadman has to learn that she can't solve everything on her own... the hard way.
1. Prologue

**Author:** RowenaR

**Rating:** T

**Category: **Adventure, Drama

**Disclaimer:** Stargate belongs to Gekko and… all those other people making money with it. Anyway, I don't. Honestly. So – I don't own, you don't sue. Deal?

**Summary: **Laura Cadman has to learn that she can't solve everything on her own... the hard way.

**A/N: **So _finally_ the new story I promised to publish over a week again. But then my laptop decided to break down completely so that I had to send it away to get it fixed (hard-drive's broken, I guess... but at least I have a full backup of all the important data). So it might take a while until I'm able to up-date in my usual speed, but I really didn't want to wait any longer with this. So... there you go :)

Anyway, as always: Not a native speaker, so please excuse any weird grammatical constructions, run-ons and typos. Feedback will earn you a cookie, flames will roast my marshmellows.

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**Protect and Survive V:**** Draw blood tonight**

"_I don't know that I'd make a good soldier  
I don't believe in being violent and cruel  
I don't know how to fight, but I'll draw blood tonight  
If somebody tries hurting you."_

_Plain White T's, "Write you a song"_

**Prologue**

Sometimes, she thinks as she comes back from an evening spent on the shooting range, she still can't quite believe how everything turned out. That she would be walking back to a certain Major's quarters rather than her own after her shift and find nothing wrong or strange with it… time and again she still finds herself being astonished at that.

She smiles to herself. She'll probably never forget the moment when he'd just told her to stop her rambling and had kissed her, just like that. And she'll _most certainly_ never forget what had happened in his quarters afterwards. An ambiguous grin appears on her face. Sure, he'd still been a little sore from all the stuff that had happened to him in that stupid cave, but… oh, there she already is. With another smile, she opens his door and steps in.

He's sitting at his desk, and the only light in his quarters is the one shining directly onto his work. He doesn't really look happy, with one arm resting on the edge of the desk and the other supporting his forehead, while he obviously tries to go through the text before him. No doubt he's reviewing another of the files Sheppard gave him for the whole reg-changing thing. A few days after Sheppard gave him the first one – one and a half weeks ago – he'd already decided to sacrifice his spare time to go through them. She hadn't minded, because… no scratch that, she _had_ minded, mainly because he just wouldn't let her help him.

She frowns as she remembers the row they had about that. He'd tried to give her the whole "I'm the senior rank, and it's my possibility."-speech all over again, and she had countered with the fact that if they were doing it in their _spare_ time, rank wouldn't have any meaning anyway. And it hadn't been only his usual over-protectiveness. In fact, she'd felt very much like he'd insulted her intelligence, sublimely telling her that she lacked the competences to do this right. The whole argument hat culminated in her telling him that she might not be a political science major, but that she could still read and… she shakes her head. No. She won't think about that now. He had apologized and she had apologized and they had kissed and made up and everything was okay again.

She walks over to him, and he still hasn't stirred, totally engrossed in his work. Carefully, she puts her hands on his shoulders and starts to knead them lightly. He doesn't even jump a little. So either he has finally gotten used to her coming into his quarters unannounced or he's just way too tired to be startled. "Hey.", she says quietly and bends down to kiss the top of his head.

For a moment, nothing happens, but then he leans back with a silent sigh and rubs his eyes. She still has her hands on his shoulders, and even though she's administering very little pressure, she can feel the knots in his shoulders and his neck. In fact, it all feels like solid rock, tight from hours after hours of sitting at his desk, carrying heavy equipment, flying jumpers… she really doesn't understand why he doesn't let her help with the files. "You know… you wouldn't have to do this if you let me help you."

"Hey, we've been over this, remember?" If he looked only tired, he surely _sounds_ totally worn-out. She knows she should let this lie, but it's tugging at her heartstrings to see him exhaust himself with this. All she wants to do is help, and with that she doesn't only mean kneading his shoulders or being his pillow.

"That was _before_ you became a shadow of your usual self." He leans back his head against her and grabs her hands with his.

"It'll be over in another week. I promise. Now, come on, let's not talk about this again." But she wants to. She wants him to stop exhausting himself like this, because she really doesn't see much of him and when she does he's usually asleep even before she's done with getting ready for bed.

"It would be over even faster if you just let me _help_ you, Mr. Mule." It's delivered with a smile, but she hopes that he can hear the steel underneath it. She's just this side of sick and tired of seeing him slaving away like this and not letting her lend him a hand.

"Well… even if I would… you wouldn't have the time, anyway." What the…? What is _that_ supposed to mean? She lets go of his shoulders and puts her hands at her hips.

"Of course I would. I mean… why shouldn't I?" He turns around in his seat, and there's something in his face the looks very much like simmering anger kept barely in check and transferred into sarcasm.

"Because, if I remember it correctly, quite some part of your spare time goes into certain first aid classes and explosives classes." Good _God_, he didn't just say that, right? He didn't just… no way he's got a problem with her arrangement with First Sergeant Will Meyers to improve her first aid skills if she lets him play around with some of her explosives and learn the finer details of the art of blowing up buildings. She _told_ him about that _three months ago_ and he _never_ gave her _any_ reason to believe it wasn't okay for him. In fact, he even told her she could really use some first aid refreshment, still reminiscent of how unwilling she had been to treat the cut in his cheek.

"I don't believe this. We talked about this. You _never_ had a problem with it. And now, suddenly, there is?" He turns away from her again, only his profile visible now, with the hard shadows from the sole lamp's light.

"That's because I thought we were speaking about a short term agreement, not a permanent one." His voice is clipped and controlled… like it was when he'd been talking to Carson before they'd obviously come to some form of truce.

"I never said anything about a "short term agreement"… and what exactly _is_ your problem?" Still not looking at her. This must have been festering in his mind for longer than just a week. But why didn't he _say_ anything?

"My problem is that I don't even know _what_ exactly you're doing there, because you fucking never _talk_ about it." She… doesn't believe this. He's _jealous_. That's so ridiculous that she didn't even think of that until now.

"I don't believe this. You're _jealous_. Look, you don't have any…" He looks at her again, and there's a hard look in his eyes she hasn't seen ever before.

"I'm _not_ jealous. I'm just wondering why my _girlfriend_ and my _subordinate_ sees no reason to talk to me about what exactly she's doing with a Sergeant." This is just… exactly the reason why non-frat regs exist, a mean little voice whispers in her head, but she chooses to push it away as far as she can. He's just not quite himself, she knows that much. Because the Evan Lorne she knows would _never_ mix up her being his girlfriend and his subordinate.

"I _told_ you it's nothing extraordinary. Come on, you're just tired and exhausted and… let's just get to bed, okay?"

"Oh, one minute ago, _you_ were pretty much set on talking. And now that I _want_ to talk, you're just not interested anymore?" Sarcasm again. She knows it's his way of avoiding to shout at her, but that doesn't make it any better. "You know, that's what you always do. Something you don't want to talk about? Only one reaction: You run away." That's not true. Well, not entirely, but that's not the point here.

"Hey, I'm not running away! All I did was suggesting that it's probably better we discuss this when we're both a little less tired." He stands up now, in front of her.

"Did you, huh? Funny, way I see it was a pretty lame attempt at skirting the issue. And I wonder _why_ you want to skirt this particular issue." God, why can't he let this lie? He's read Meyers' record, and the way she knows him he can recite it word by word, because he can do that with practically everyone's record. Evan _knows_ that Meyers is married to a nurse back on Earth and that he's already put in a request for his wife to follow him here. How the _hell_ did any of these scary thoughts get into his mind?

"I'm _not_ skirting the fucking issue! I just want us both to fucking stop this, get into the fucking bed and clear it up like sensible people when I'm back from that fucking trade mission!" She's resorted to shouting now, and immediately regrets it when he looks at his bed and back at her and there's… a strange mix off emotions on his face.

"You know what? I think it might be good idea if you would leave now. Because I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight beside someone who trusts me as little as you do." She swallows and for a moment, they are both silent. That was… a low blow. And isn't _he_ the one not trusting _her_? All of sudden she doesn't fancy sleeping beside him that much, either.

"Alright. Fine." She's grown quite again. Realization dawns in his face, and he looks very much like he already regrets having said that, but she's had it. She'd just wanted to help, and he'd gone on accusing her of stupid stuff and hurt her. She wants to teach him a lesson… and she needs time to get a grip on her temper. "Then let me tell you that _I_ don't think I'll be able to sleep beside someone who trusts me as little as _you_ do." And with that she turns around on her heels and is out the door before he can say anything.

Outside she takes a deep breath and leans against the wall. Evan Lorne jealous… he never before had displayed only the _hint_ of a jealous streak… no, wait, he _had_, but he had always been able to hold it in check, let his mind thump down his heart and hold an iron clench around it for the sake of cooperation and team-work. But even the most controlled and sensible person – and Evan is one of the most controlled and sensible persons she knows – has their limits, and obviously being tired is his. Exhaustion has gotten the better of him, and she's already sorry for running out like this.

But there's also a deep pride in her that forbids her to go back inside. He _did_ say things that hurt her, and she _needs_ him to be the one coming to her and ask for forgiveness. She knows he'll come around eventually, but she really wants him to make the first step. He'll have plenty of time for that since she's scheduled for a three day trade visit to one of the planets they recently came across with Teyla, Jennifer Keller and Sergeant Meyers.

So she just turns and walks down the corridor to her own quarters, again and again wiping over her face to keep the furious tears from running down. And so she never hears the angry shout and the sound of his boot connecting pretty violently with a wall from inside his quarters.


	2. One

**One**

She wakes up as an alarm sounds through the room and her first impulse is to tell Evan to shut this damn thing up… and then reality comes crashing down on her. She's in her own quarters, without Evan, and she fell asleep about two hours ago, because she just wouldn't stop tossing and turning over the stupid argument they had had last evening. The alarm's still ringing, reminding her of the fact that in half an hour she has to be in the Control Room, ready to take off for three days off-world.

Groaning she gets up, trying to focus on the mission before her, but all her sleep-muddled brain will come up with is the row from yesterday and her impulse to leave him a message stating that she's sorry for running out like this, because she doesn't want to leave for three days like this. But she made a decision yesterday, and she'll stick to that. He really needs to see that he can't go on excluding her from this paperwork business. And that his jealousy is totally unfounded and downright _stupid_. But he was right with you running away from certain… issues, the mean little voice from yesterday is whispering again. She pushes it away again, telling herself that this wasn't the point of the whole thing and only his cover for his weak jealous accusations.

Grumbling, she turns off her shower and puts on her BDUs, all the while telling herself that she now needs to focus on the damn mission, not a stupid lovers' spat she can take care off when being back.

Still not in her best of moods – if you aren't much of a morning person anyway having to get up after only two hours sure isn't the best way of starting the day – she arrives at the locker room. Luckily enough she made it there as the first one. Would have been just this side of embarrassing if she'd arrived last – being the commanding officer of this mission and everything. Sighing she starts gearing up her TAC vest, when Meyers arrives. "'Morning, ma'am. Had a long night?"

He grins, and she curses every morning person of the two galaxies she knows. And she curses _him_ for being totally oblivious whom she owes the long night to. Well, partially. "'Morning, Sergeant. Yeah, you could say that. And no, I don't want to talk about it."

He checks his P90 and puts a packet of spare ammunition in one of the pockets of his vest. "Wouldn't dare dreaming of it, ma'am." Doesn't hold him back from forming his own thoughts on her "long night", she's sure of that. He's a Marine, and he's male. No matter if he's married or not, she knows exactly where the minds of male Marines like to wander. His earlier allusions to conversations among the NCOs were proof of that as well.

"'Morning, Laura! Sergeant." God, not _another_ morning person. She really likes Jennifer Keller, even with those insecure tendencies and the sometimes weird sense of humor, but right now she's only seconds away from snapping at her. "Whoa, you really look like hell, Laura."

"Thank you, Dr. Rosy Cheeks. That's _exactly_ what a gal wants to hear this time in the morning." Okay, now she _did_ snap. Keller just backs away, slamming into Teyla who just arrived at the scene.

"Oh, sorry." Keller turns around and jerks her thump at her, pretending to whisper to Teyla: "Beware of the Lieutenant's wrath. Something… or _someone_ didn't let her sleep last night."

Teyla just lets a half-smile show and says: "I am sorry for arriving late, Laura. Torren had a little trouble with teething, and Kanaan needed my assistance to calm him down."

She takes a deep breath and holsters the Beretta. Come on, Cadman, these people didn't do anything to you. And you're supposed to spend three days off-world with them. Better play nice. "Not a problem. Now… everyone geared up?" She throws a look around and apart from Keller, who still seems to have a little trouble with clipping everything to the right places, everyone is set. "Erm… you need any help, Doc?"

"No, I'm perfectly fine… once I find out where this is supposed to go… and… hey, wait, is that a weapon in there?" Oh, Keller just discovered that there belongs a Beretta to the leg holster she has trouble with putting on. Shouldn't she by now know that _everyone_ of them is supposed to carry a sidearm with them nowadays, most of all after a few cases of scientists' almost abductions in the last few weeks?

"It certainly looks that way, ma'am.", Meyers supplies helpfully and she can see that he barely holds back a smirk. Most probably his thoughts mirror her own on the subject of Keller and going off-world.

"I am _not_ going to carry that thing with me." Mh, she thinks. Someone's getting a little amnesiac?

"Yes, you _are_. You remember patching up Doctors LeCroix and Simmons two days ago? That happened because _they_ refused to take their sidearms with them as well. When will you lot ever learn, huh?" Keller rolls her eyes at her, while Teyla and Meyers have now obtained their places at the sidelines, Teyla with a frown on her face and Meyers with his usual "I'm just the resident NCO and solely here to enjoy the show"-face. One day she's _so_ going to get back at him for always using his rank as an excuse to watch other people getting at each others' throats.

"I'm a _doctor_, Lieutenant. I don't _shoot_ people… I usually put them together _after_ the shoot-out. And anyway, this is going to be a _trade_ visit to our _allies_, right? I mean… what could possibly go wrong?" That produces a simultaneous eye rolling from herself and Meyers and a small cough from Teyla. "_What_?"

"Now we're doomed. Thank you very much, Doc." She really can't decide between simply being unnerved and a little pissed at the Doc or being seriously amused.

"With all due respect, ma'am… you're starting to sound like Dr. McKay. That is, if you don't mind me saying it, scary." There is an amused smile now on Teyla's face who has wisely chosen to stay out of this until now.

"Hey, she just said the "What could…"-sentence. That would worry _everyone_. Now, be a good girl and put that pretty little Beretta back into the holster, Doc. And no more mentioning of Dr. McKay and me in the same sentence from you, Sergeant." Now it looks like Keller is resorting to pouting at any moment. And Meyers seems to enjoy himself immensely. She wonders what passed around the NCO ranks shortly before this mission. Probably he was alternately admired and pitied for having to go off-world with the three of them.

"Jennifer… I might adhere to what Laura is saying. Given the increased number of attacked and abducted civilian scientists in the last few weeks, it really might be wise for even the healers to carry some weapons for their self-defense. If I remember it correctly, even Carson is carrying one whenever he goes off-world." Now Teyla _finally_ decided to bring some reason into this. But yeah, she could have thought of that Carson-argument herself before.

Jennifer Keller, though, doesn't seem really fazed by it. "He can do as he sees fit, but _I_ ain't touching a weapon. Really, I knew a few kids who played around with that stuff back home and…" She has a look at her watch. They're already near overdue, and if she doesn't herd this flock up now, Sheppard will hail them and then she'll have her splendid record of smooth missions with her in command ruined. Alright… so she's got only _two_ missions where she was in command here under her belt, but _those two_ did go smoothly. More… or less.

Time to put her foot down and show the straying sheep who's boss around here. "Doc, I'll say this only once: The weapon stays on or _you_ stay _here_."

Keller shrugs and makes a big show of totally not being interested in the mission. "So what? Everyone knows I'm not keen on going off-world, anyway."

Yep, she's anticipated that. And she's been suspecting that Jennifer Keller nowadays is merely using her reputation of having an aversion to going off-world when she needs it and is otherwise quite fine with it. But she's got something up her sleeve as well. "Oh, but weren't you eager to get your hands on those herbs they have at that planet just a few days ago?"

Keller's eyes grow large and she knows she's won. But the little doctor chooses not to go down without a fight. "Wait… where do _you_ know that from?"

She allows herself a smug grin. "Lets just say… from time to time I actually listen to what people tell me."

With her face dark, Keller shoves the Beretta back into its holster and grumbles: "The minute I get back, Carson Beckett is a dead man."

She really wants to laugh out loud now, because Keller on the war path is a very glorious sight to see, but decides that this wouldn't really do her authority much good, so she just jerks her head.

"Come on, people, let's get this over with." With that, their merry little band sets off to the Control Room.

When they arrive there, Sheppard is already waiting for them at the 'Gate ramp, ostentatiously looking at his watch and tapping his foot. "15 minutes, Lieutenant. That's a new record." Hey, she's never been unpunctual! Alright, sometimes she stretches her time pretty much, but she always arrives on time, even if it's in the last minute.

She walks up to him and simply says: "We had a slight disagreement on off-world armament protocol that needed to be sorted out, sir."

Sheppard smirks and raises his eyebrows at Keller. "Ah, Dr. Keller been a naughty girl and refused to carry a sidearm _again_?" She doesn't turn around to Keller, but she's pretty sure that the young doctor is coloring furiously at Sheppard calling her a "naughty girl". Hell, _she_ would probably be coloring if Sheppard called her… wait. He already did. Better not go there now, because that would just serve to remind her of Evan, and she's determined not to think of him for at least another day.

"Exactly, sir."

Sheppard shoots a look towards Keller's right thigh and grins with appreciation. "I see you got to solve the situation in your favor."

"Yes, sir." She can't quite keep the smug edge out of her voice and is almost positive that Keller will get back at her at the next girls' poker night. Or maybe even before that.

"Good work, Lieutenant. Last team CO needed half an hour." Actually… that last team CO had been Evan, and she can still hear the huffing and grumbling and cursing from when he came back from _that_ mission ringing in her ears. But no more thinking of him. At least not for today.

She shrugs. "Well… sometimes all it needs is a woman's touch."

Sheppard almost looks like he expected another answer, but that's all she's ready to give him at the moment. No use letting him know of that stupid row. "Alright… get going, the whole lot of you."

She just nods. "Yes, sir."

But before Sheppard can give the command to dial up, Teyla speaks up from behind her. "John… I told Kanaan he can come to you if anything comes up with Torren. I do hope it is alright with you." The request doesn't surprise her, even though she still finds it hard to adapt to the fact that ass-kicking Amazon Teyla has a second life as the loving mother of an infant son. What _does_ surprise her is the look that shortly crosses Sheppard's face at the mentioning of Kanaan. Jealousy? Dislike? She can't really put her finger on it and before she knows it she has decided to ask Evan about what he thinks is going on between these two. She's had her suspicions, but… ah hell, the mission, Cadman, she tells herself. The _mission_.

The look of usual nonchalance is back on, anyway, and she's probably just been imagining things. "'Course it is. Anyone else of you got any last minute request? Shall I take care of the Major in your absence, Lieutenant? You know, make sure he eats and drinks enough, gets enough sleep…"

Aw, he just _had_ to come up with something like that, right? She resists looking at either of her team mates, because she's pretty sure to find them enjoying Sheppard torturing her with that. She wonders if he has any idea how _much_ of a sore spot he just hit. "No, I think he's pretty capable of that on his own. He's a real big boy, you know." She wishes that wouldn't have sounded _so_ bitchy. Hopefully, Sheppard will leave Evan alone with this.

"Right, I figured as much." Regardless of what she thought before, that somewhat quiet tone in Sheppard's voice makes her hope that he _does_ know what his 2IC is presently doing to himself and that the Colonel _will_ look out a little for him as long as she's gone. As much as he hurt her with his comments, she knows he'll worry about her, and she's afraid of what could probably happen if all of that – his duties, the lack of sleep, the paperwork and the worrying – culminates. But she'd rather rot in hell than tell anyone, so she's grateful when Sheppard finally says "_Now_ get going, all of you." and commands Banks to open the 'Gate.

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**A/N:** Whoa, _finally _got around up-dating. And I'm a little afraid that this one-week intervalls will go on for quite some time longer, because although I have my laptop back (with a new hard drive and ventilation) it's still continuing to bother me. For one, I don't have any MS Office stuff installed (and writing with WordPad is simply a pain in the neck) and secondly, yesterday it started to get wonky again (the same way it did before I had the hard drive and the ventilation replaced... I feel seriously cheeted by TPTB _out there_). Anyway, new chapter, hope you enjoyed it :)


	3. Two

**Two**

Well, here they go. Today it's forest again, this time with the twist of a steady drizzle and early evening. But, well, drizzle's still better than glaring sun or heaps of snow. They've got a hike of about half an hour in front of them until the settlement they're supposed to greet the trade delegation. She's a little surprised not to hear any instant complaints from Keller, but that just serves to underline her suspicions that the doctor's predisposition towards off-world missions has changed a lot since her first one.

The only thing Keller does say after about ten minutes of walking is: "How long until the settlement, Laura?"

She sighs. "Half an hour, tops. The quicker your steps, the faster we're there."

She knows she should stop the needling but she just can't help herself. Keller is just a target far too easy. "Oh, ha ha. I _have_ been working out, okay?"

From behind she can hear a suppressed snort and is ready to whip around and tell the Sergeant to keep his male Marine thoughts to himself, but he did get that idea himself, obviously, since nothing comes. So she turns back to Keller and says: "Really… With whom?"

"With Ronon… oh, crap. You just tricked me into saying that!" She genuinely grins and she's conscious of the fact that Meyers heard it as well. The things she does for keeping the rumor mill running and turning away from Evan and her…

"I believe you just volunteered this information, Jennifer." That's Teyla, an amused smile barely concealed.

"See? I tricked you into nothing." Keller just sticks out her tongue.

And then she gets back at her. "Okay, I let Ronon help me with working out. So what? And anyway, _I_ wasn't the one being all grumpy this morning. Didn't get much sleep, did you?" Aw, not _again_.

"Not your business, Doc." Oops, that was probably a bit to harsh. And not exactly helping in the distraction department. Teyla comes up beside her.

"Laura… I hope you don't mind me asking… but is everything alright between you and Major Lorne?" That's really nothing she wants to discuss in front of a subordinate, no matter how low Teyla has turned her voice. But before she can answer, Meyers chimes already in.

"I just turned deaf, ma'am." She turns around and tries to look stern.

"I certainly hope you haven't, Sergeant." He grins.

"Did you just say something, ma'am?" She rolls her eyes. Good thing Evan or any of the other senior officers aren't around. But then again, Meyers wouldn't react to her like that if they were. He knows very well when he can allow himself a little slack and when he would get in serious trouble for that. And he knows that she can switch from bantering to commanding faster than he can blink.

"Just remember to get back that hearing before we enter Atlantis again."

He nods. "'Course, ma'am."

She sighs and turns back to Teyla. "We just… had a… kind of a row yesterday."

"Serious one?" Keller has dropped the insulted pout and turned back to just being a concerned friend now. She turns her gaze forward and stomps through the underbrush.

"Not more serious than the other ones. It's just… never mind." She's sure that behind her back, Teyla and Keller are sharing a worried glance. Her first impulse is to roll her eyes, but then again… they are friends, and once in a while she maybe should let her friends worry about her.

"You didn't make up, huh?" You can say a lot about Jennifer Keller, but not that she's totally oblivious about what got her friends upset. It's no use denying it, because she's sure that Teyla has come to the same conclusion.

"No. I kind of… ran out on him." Now, in the light of day and with three days away from him ahead of her, it all sounds kind of… ridiculous. But it isn't, she forcibly reminds herself. Both her female companions are silent for a moment, while Meyers still pretends not to have heard anything. But when she turns around to look at him, she sees understanding in his eyes. He's told her very few about his wife, but from what he did she could gather that he does miss her and takes great care to make the best of the time they get when he's on leave or during short video conversations.

In the end it's him who says something, not Teyla or Keller. "It'll be okay, ma'am. Boss is a sensible guy." Sensible… yeah, that's what Evan is. But even he's got his limits. And he's under a lot of pressure at the moment. She sighs.

"Didn't you say you lost your hearing, Sergeant?" He grins, recognizing her attempt at changing the topic.

"Miracle cure, ma'am." If she'd had something to throw at him he'd have to dodge now, but at least his easygoing manner once again helps her to get out of a rather gloomy state of mind.

"I agree with the Sergeant, Laura. There is, though, a saying among my people: Never let the sun set upon an argument." Well, she knows that herself. But Teyla's just trying to help, so she tries to reign in her temper.

She can't really hold the grumble out of her voice, though, when she replies: "My mum likes to say that."

Teyla just gives her an appreciative raising of her eyebrow and a small smile. "Then she is a very wise woman."

She snorts. "Still didn't stop her from not talking to me for three days when I wrecked her car." Oh yeah, _that_ had been one of the not so smart things she'd done in her high school senior year. She briefly wonders what her mother's answer to the letter will be because there she'd mentioned for the first time that she has managed to fall in love with a guy not only seven years her senior but also her CO.

Keller barks a short laugh. "Lucky you. Mine just wouldn't stop yelling at me when I did the same to _her_ car." Surprised she turns to the petite doctor. Now _that_'s something she surely didn't expect from her. She'd always pictured the kid Jennifer Keller as a rather meek, bookish sort of girl, not one prone to wreck her mother's car.

Meyers chuckles a little and then tops Keller's admission: "That's nothing, ma'am. You should have seen _mine_ when she found out I was already sleeping with my first girlfriend when I still told her we were doing nothing more than holding hands."

That makes Keller and her laugh and Teyla look a little like she doesn't quite get a strange Earth custom once again. Obviously, Athosian teenagers aren't quite as much under the thump of their parents as Earth teenagers often are. She can't hold back making a suggestive face and say: "Oh, naughty, naughty, Sergeant."

He gives her a suggestive grin of his own. "That's what my wife likes to say to me when… alright, shutting up now."

The settlement has gotten into view now. Time to cut the chatter and get back to business. She tells the Sergeant so. "Yeah, you better. There are our hosts." The local traders have built up a temporary settlement of tents and have already seen them approaching. A group quickly forms and walks out to meet them.

As they approach, she can make out three individuals, two women and a man. The women are wearing colorful dresses, while the man is wearing trousers and a shirt. So far, nothing looks threatening. Wouldn't _that_ be nice? A mission were _everything_ goes according to the plan? Even when _someone_ blurted out the wretched "What could possibly go wrong?" at the start?

Halfway between the edge of the forest and the settlement, they meet their welcoming committee. Teyla, as their designated negotiator, steps forward to greet them. "Hamrash, it is so good to see you and your sisters being well!" They put their foreheads together in Athosian fashion. "Let me introduce you to my fellow travelers. This" – she gestures toward Keller, who sketches a short bow – "is Doctor Jennifer Keller. She is most interested in the herbs you have to offer. This" – now a gesture towards her, and she tries to copy Keller's bow – "is Lieutenant Laura Cadman. She is responsible for our safety and the leader of our group. And this" – now Meyers, who's bow is surprisingly smooth – "is Sergeant William Meyers. He will be assisting Lieutenant Cadman and Dr. Keller." Poor Will Meyers, eternal drudge. But she knows that he bears that fate with good-natured easiness every time he has to do it.

Hamrash bows to each of them, and then it's his turn to introduce himself and his companions. He presents them as his sisters, Elina and Wesaara. Then, when all the niceties are exchanged, he takes Teyla's arm and leads all of them to the tents. In the briefing Teyla had told them that it was custom with these traders to exchange pleasant small talk and anecdotes around the fire and get comfortable with each other the day before trade negotiations would start, which was one of the reason that this visit is scheduled for more than just a few hours. "So…", Hamrash says to Teyla, "I hear you have become a mother. We are really most excited to learn all about this."

* * *

**A/N:** Whee, _finally_! Have been waiting to upload this for the last week and of course apologize very much for letting you wait. I'm honestly sorry for delaying this so much, but the laptop continues giving me headaches and I'm afraid I need to have to send it in _again _after the weekend :( Therefore I thank everyone who still stays with the story and actually reviews. I know how having to wait for updates can grate on your nerves :S


	4. Three

**Three**

So far, it's going great. They'd been led into one of the tents and told to get comfortable. A strange feeling in her guts had told her not to put away the TAC vests and the weapons, and after Teyla had explained to Hamrash that she was just doing her job, he had let Meyers and her inside the tent with their weapons. Teyla and Keller, though, had to leave them outside, as a compromise.

Inside the tent a merry little fire had already been burning and Elina had served them some kind of tea. In a matter of minutes, the drizzle and the slight chill from outside had been forgotten and she's allowed herself to relax a little. The whole getting-to-know-each-other thing had proved to be quite entertaining since obviously being hospitable and charming is considered an art among Hamrash's people.

"So, this leader of yours…"

"Mr. Woolsey.", Teyla helpfully supplies, and she's a little astounded about the warmth in Teyla's voice. Teyla, of all people, who'd been given quite a hard time by him the first few times she'd had encountered Mr. Woolsey.

"Yes, Mr. Woolsey… you say that he is commanding over 300 people? He surely does not sound like being capable of it." That's exactly what she'd thought when Evan had told her that Richard Woolsey would be replacing Colonel Samantha Carter, but since he'd come to Atlantis, Woolsey time and again has surprised her with his decisions.

"You would be surprised how circumstances can change people.", Teyla says with that delicate smile of hers, and she feels like agreeing. When she'd first met Major Evan Lorne, aboard the _Daedalus_, on their way to her first tour on Atlantis, she'd immediately put him down as a stuck-up Air Force prick, being too full of himself just because he could fly some pretty birds, like she put down all the flyboys. But she'd had to revise that pretty soon, because she got to see that his rather closed off behavior hadn't been out of arrogance, but out of a sense of duty and the need to preserve a professional façade.

When she'd gotten to see the rather mischievous and witty side of his personality for the first time – in one of the duels with McKay he later got famous for – she'd realized that she had _completely_ misjudged him at first. The more comfortable he got on Atlantis, the more he'd opened up. And then, there had been this one fateful day, when Carson Beckett had suddenly been dead, she'd come to get a first glimpse at the vulnerable man deep underneath all the other layers.

"Laura?" She blinks. Dammit. Don't get distracted, Cadman. And most of all not by thinking of stubborn mule Evan Lorne of all people.

"What is it?" Teyla bends her head a little and gestures towards their host.

"Hamrash wants to know how you came to be soldier. His people does not have much women who have taken up the trade of being a warrior and he is most interested in hearing about Earth female soldiers." Oh, so probably it's her turn for a story now. She's dreaded it a little and is thankful that she's supposed to tell them about the Corps and her profession, not something private. Meyers, for example, had been asked if there was anyone waiting for him back in the Milky Way and they had practically grilled him with questions about his family and his wife. When it had been Keller's turn, Hamrash and his sisters had needled her very gracefully and skillfully with questions about whether she had already chosen a mate.

She takes a deep breath. "Well… That's a kind of very general question. Is there something special you want to know? 'Cause there's an awful lot to tell about Earth female soldiers."

Wesaara, the quietest one of their hosts, clears her throat and speaks up. "Laura… may I call you Laura or do you prefer to be called by your rank?" She assures the young woman that Laura is absolutely okay under these circumstances and Wesaara continues: "What do your parents say to your profession? Do they not worry about you?" Alright… so much for "nothing private".

"They… are okay with it now, I guess. But when I told my mother I'd decided to join up, she didn't… take it particularly well." In fact, her brothers and her father had immediately fled the house the moment their near monumental shouting match had started. "You have to see… I'm part of a family with a long tradition of… soldiers, but only male, never any girls. My brothers both decided against a military career, but I'd always wanted to go. Guess my mother always thought that was just some girl fancy… something that would fade while I got older."

"But it did not?", Elina chimes in and she snorts.

"God, no. Dad never had a problem with it and Paul and Mat were just glad that they could choose some other path without feeling like traitors to the family tradition. But Mum… she needed all until my promotion to First Lieutenant to come around." There had been a time where they hadn't even talked to each other, but that's nothing anyone of them needs to know. Laura Cadman and Diana Cadman… never ending story of shouting matches, silent battles, testing out boundaries… sure, they love each other, but that doesn't stop them from driving each other insane.

"And what does your family now think of you being so far away?" If they ever need someone to lead an interrogation again, she's so going to suggest to invite these people.

"Well… they're not exactly thrilled. But they know I'm doing something I enjoy and so they're supportive and try not to worry too much." _Try_ being the operative word. In the letters she gets, her mother is pretty vocal about the difficulties of adapting to not even knowing where her youngest child is stationed. She never asks her to give it up, but she knows that her mother wouldn't be _that_ disappointed if she did… even if her mother has admitted quite a while ago that she's damn proud of her only daughter. Her father on the other hand… he doesn't write much about being worried, but between the lines she can see that it's difficult for him as well. As for her brothers… Paul just became a father and she's genuinely sorry for not being able to see him for another four months, while Mat is often on the move himself, doing God knows what on his travels.

"Laura… I hope you do not find this awfully forward of me…" Uh-oh. That's how Hamrash started to quiz Meyers and Keller about any significant others. "Do you have someone back on Earth waiting for you? Apart from your nearest kin, I mean."

She smiles a little ruefully. "No. Just no time for that." She hopes that satisfies him but why should she be lucky if Keller wasn't?

"And… in Atlantis? I cannot imagine such a nice young lady to be without any suitors." I know someone else who can't fathom that not every guy in Atlantis is trying to make a pass at me whenever they can, she thinks a little sourly, but outwardly she just clears her throat and is about to simply deny having any "suitors", when Jennifer Keller gives her a wicked grin.

"Oh, come on, Laura, we're among friends here. You don't have to hide _anything_." Whoa! She really should stop forgetting what a minx Keller can be. That doctor may seem all awkward and sweet, but under that… mischievous little witch.

By now, everyone's attention is fixed on her. She'll definitely have to get back at Keller for _that_. "Ermm… well… There _is_ a guy." There. That should be enough.

"Do tell us about him, Laura.", Elina says and Keller makes a very smug face that says "Yes, _do_ tell us, Laura, 'cause they made me talk about Ronon and Rodney and you soaked up every little word like a sponge to feed the rumor mill with it when we get back." Alright, so… maybe she deserves that. But just a little. And that doesn't change the fact that she does _not_ want to talk about Evan and what he means to her. Not just because of this stupid row – she's almost forgotten about that by now and is already thinking about revising her decision to teach him a lesson and just chalk this horrible thing up to stress and exhaustion – but mostly because this is something very private for her. _And_ there's one of the Sergeants that Evan is commanding sitting in the room, someone who doesn't need – and most probably doesn't _want_ – to know about the private man Evan Lorne.

But she won't get around telling at least a _bit_ of all of that. "Well… he's… he's a soldier as well. A… very _good_ soldier." So far, so good. That's nothing none of them don't know already. "And a very good man. He's… very dutiful, kind, witty…" He's hard when he needs to be and tender when he allows himself to be. He would follow his CO into hell and back and he would fight his way through an entire Wraith Armada to get to her. He can fly an F302 and command a space ship, but he can't believe that he's all she wants and all she needs. He has the most beautiful smile she's ever seen and eyes that remind her of Lake Michigan back home shortly before one of the many thunderstorms breaks lose. "Yeah, well, there's not much more to say, really."

She hopes that the dim light in the tent hides her discomfort and her sudden blush. For a moment, it's silent and she realizes that nobody believes that, probably because her stupid face gave her away. "Aw, come on, Laura…"

In the same moment that Keller wants to nudge her again, they suddenly hear the sound of shots ringing through the night. In an instant, Meyers, Teyla and she are on their feet, storming out the tent without even waiting for their hosts to say anything. Keller, not possessing the reflexes of a trained soldier, lags a little behind. Teyla, on the other hand, is already at the cache outside the tent holding her and Keller's weapons and tosses the doctor her Beretta. Keller barely manages to catch it and looks mighty clueless as what to do with it. When this is over, I'm _so_ forcing her on the shooting range, she thinks.

The shots have stopped, but she remembers them being pretty near, so she silently tells Meyers and Teyla to be on their guard. She herself drags Keller in front of her to able to see her. It's silent again, but it's not a peaceful silence. Something's in the air… Keller swallows and looks at her, terrified. "What the…"

Shots explode again, both bullets and stunner shots, and one of the bullets grazes her thigh. She lets out something that would have made a whole barrack of Marines blush, but she doesn't waste time, pushes Keller toward the tent and starts firing into the night behind her. Meyers and Teyla also return the fire. That volley lasts about a minute, and then it ceases again. She suspects that their adversaries need time to regroup and so immediately she rounds up her own team and signals them to get into the relative safety of the tent's shadow.

The tent flap opens and Hamrash pokes out his head. "Laura, is everything…" She just shakes her head. No talking now. No giving away their position. A short look at her team reassures her that they are all okay. Alright, what to do?

Another volley aimed directly at them gives her the answer. They need to leave this settlement _immediately_, because whoever is firing at them is really firing at _them_, and staying would mean a danger to the traders. "To the 'Gate! Teyla takes point, Doc, Meyers, I take six. _Move it_!" Immediately Teyla, Keller and the Sergeant start to run into the dark forest. She wants to follow suit, but suddenly another bullet grazes her leg and she feels it buckling beneath her. She swears again.

Again and again, shots are coming from behind and she curses the clouds. In the sparse firelight of the tent village, all she can see is moving figures, quickly catching up to her. Move it, Cadman, she thinks. You've got someone waiting for you behind that fucking 'Gate. You can do this. You're a fucking Marine. Drawing strength from God knows where she manages to speed up, even ignore the pain from the two wounds.

She even manages to catch up with Meyers who had to help up a struggled Dr. Keller. "Ma'am, is everything…"

"_Keep fucking moving, Sergeant!_" Immediately Meyers takes Keller's arm and drags her with him, while she keeps hobbling shortly behind them, time and again turning around to fire another volley at their attackers. Why does that fucking 'Gate have to be so far away, anyway? Why… Suddenly she finds herself on the ground. Not _again_, she thinks, and tries to haul herself up, but her injured leg just doesn't want to obey her.

"Sergeant, wait!" That's Keller. Before she can bark at her to keep moving, she's already beside her, checking her for injuries. Stupid doctors, she thinks, always forgetting all about how dangerous bullets and stunner shots are when they see someone on the ground.

"Doc, don't. Get up…" A little farther away from her, she can hear a short cry and knows that Teyla just has been hit. God, please let it be a stunner hit. Sheppard will _kill_ me if it wasn't, is all she can think of out of some strange reason. "Sergeant, grab Teyla and make for the 'Gate." Meyers hesitates for a moment, but then heads a few feet farther away to pick up, Teyla. She wants to get up as well…

"What have we here?" Oh crap. Ohcrapohcrapohcrap. She's blinded by two flashlights from above. Their attackers have finally arrived. Beside her, Jennifer Keller is totally paralyzed. She can't blame her, though. If she was just a civilian doctor, she would be terrified at the sight of a human in ragged Genii uniform and a Hybrid pointing a stunner and a gun towards her as well. But she's no civilian doctor.

Instantly, she reaches for her Beretta, but suddenly the human is holding his gun to Keller's head. "I would refrain from that, if you want your friend here to survive." Very slowly she removes her hand from the Beretta and the human motions the Hybrid to take it together with the P90. By now, several other Hybrids and humans have arrived, all male and all heavily armed. She counts five flashlights. Quickly she tries to assess her chances of survival against that crowd. "Give it up, little lady. You'll come with us now. You aren't _quite_ what he wanted, but you'll do, I guess. If not… _we_ have plenty of use for you." She nearly has to roll her eyes. Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt, she thinks. But when she looks at Jennifer Keller, she can see genuine fear in her eyes.

"Fuck off.", is all she gives him. Which earns her a slap across the face. Whoever "he" is, he doesn't seem to have a problem with his goods being damaged. But she'll rather rot in hell than show them any fear, if only for the sake of Jennifer Keller not going insane with it that very minute.

"Not without you, I'm afraid." With that, the group leader gestures two of his minions to search them for any weapons or hazardous material, and they're not exactly gentle with it. She really hopes that Keller remembers everything from the lessons for female personnel cleared for off-world travel. When the searching is over, both her and Keller are yanked up roughly. Immediately, both of them begin to struggle, and she's amazed at how much force Keller puts into fighting off her guards. But in the end both of them have to give up after being repeatedly backhanded.

As they finally arrive at the 'Gate, she wants to start a second try when they just finished the dialing sequence, but suddenly Meyers comes charging out of the forest, alone. Bad idea. She has to risk it now.

"Sergeant, turn back _immediately_." Still advancing. Dammit, Meyers, _no_. Someone has to stay behind, get Teyla back to Atlantis.

"No way, ma'am." Her captor wants to clamp his hand around her mouth, but she bites him, hard. With a yowl he draws back his hand and they start dragging Keller and her to the 'Gate, while two keep firing at Meyers

"Sergeant, go!" She's at the top of her lungs now.

And Meyers is as well. "Boss is gonna _kill_ me if I let them leave, ma'am!"

No. The boss will kill you if you don't follow my orders now. "Never mind the boss, Sergeant!" Almost at the 'Gate. "_I_'m your CO here, and I say _go_!" He's still advancing, pretending he hasn't heard her. "_Sergeant_! That's an order! _Go_!" Only a few feet away now… Meyers has already reached them, but when she tells him to go for the last time, he finally realizes what she has tried to tell him and simply stops, letting them drag Keller and her to an uncertain fate. The last thing she sees is an unbearable amount of shame in his eyes.

* * *

**A/N: **Yes, new chapter. Yes, in less than a week (even though I just managed to crash my dad's computer as well... I have the bad feeling that it was my back-up external hard-drive that did that... NOT good). But I was just tired of having to wait so long ;)

Anyway... I'm a bit concerned about Meyers' actions at the end of the chapter... this is just _bound_ to get a few disapproving reactions, so I hope you can trust me enough that I know what I'm doing.

Oh, and I'm delighted to see that my only German reviewer Julia is back reading my stories... I'd already been prepared to announce that I really miss her and wonder where she is in this A/N ;) That, of course, does _not_ mean that I value all my other reviewers less. In fact, I'm happy about every review I get and I love every single one of all you people who stay so faithfully with me and my stories :)


	5. Four

**Four**

He sits at his station and pretends to be going through the agenda for today and the last two mission reports the respective teams sent him, but what he really does is brooding. Of course, if anyone asked him, he would claim to be frowning over that strange incident with the population of M7R-563 that Hauptmann Kessler describes in her report, but in truth his mind is still caught up with last night's fight with Laura. How could she have been so blind as to not realizing that this hadn't been _one_ bit about jealousy but only about her tendency to keep all kinds of stuff from him? Easy, a treacherous little voice answers, because you _are_ jealous, and she's able to read you pretty well.

Shut up, he thinks. He's _not_ jealous. He _knows_ that Will Meyers is married – hell, the request to bring his wife to Atlantis had to go over _his_ desk as well – and besides… besides… besides _he's fucking jealous of the fact that his girlfriend is spending some of her precious downtime with a married Marine Sergeant or with a Scottish doctor or with…_ He takes a deep breath. This is getting him nowhere. He's on duty, and there shouldn't be anything distracting him.

Besides, the other people in the Control Room are already giving him wary glances… well, they've been giving him wary glances and avoided talking to him unless it was necessary ever since a few days ago. In fact, for the last three or four days, the only one willing to put up with him off-duty had been, well, _Laura_. Laura who'd…

"Unscheduled off-world activation!", Banks suddenly barks from her station as the 'Gate activates and he can't help jumping at the sudden noise. Damn, he thinks. Laura was right. They should have just gone to bed and talk this out later. Probably would have saved him from four hours of tossing and turning.

But he manages to gather his decorum pretty fast, as he stands up and walks over to Banks, asking her: "Who is it?"

She turns around, already a worried frown on her face. "It's… Sergeant Meyers' IDC, sir." He checks his watch. Dammit. That's too early for their first check-up. Which can only mean… emergency. Laura… Laura had been scheduled for that trade mission.

Alright, no more thinking now. He taps his headset, in command mode. "Security to the 'Gate!" And to Banks: "Lower the shield."

Banks hits a few commands and the force field is lowered. Immediately two figures stumble through the 'Gate, the bigger one supporting the smaller one. It's only Sergeant Meyers and Teyla, who's obviously just barely conscious. Only… these two. No Jennifer Keller… and no Laura Cadman. Crap.

He's down at the ramp in the blink of an eye. "Sergeant, what the hell happened?" Meyers looks at him, unhappy and ashamed and slightly out of breath.

Without taking any breath, he immediately answers. "Genii… got… the Doc and the Lieutenant. Lieutenant… ordered me out…" Genii. Laura in the hands of the Genii. Push it away, Lorne, push it away and bury it deep and switch off your heart. You've got a job to do.

"Alright, Sergeant, get Teyla and yourself to the infirmary. Banks, call Mr. Woolsey and Colonel Sheppard. And someone get me Ladon Radim ASAP!" Immediately, the Control Room team gets into gear. Two members of the security team assist Meyers in getting Teyla to the infirmary, while Banks informs Woolsey and Sheppard of the situation and Alsgard is sending out hails to all relais stations that serve as connections to the regular Genii outposts.

He's back at his station, already putting together a standby SAR team and then going through their logs on regular and irregular Genii activities of the last three months, checking if any of these took place in the vicinity of M5K-758, the target planet Laura's team went to. Alsgard is already getting answers from the relays, but no Ladon Radim yet.

By the time, Sheppard and Woolsey make it to the Control Room he has singled out ten possible spots of trouble and Alsgard is getting closer to reaching Radim at any minute. Also the infirmary has told them that Teyla is merely suffering from the impact of a stunner beam and that Meyers is pretty eager to tell them what exactly happened. Both Sheppard and Woolsey immediately appear in front of his station. "What's the status, Major?" After ten minutes of furiously working, he needs to take a deep breath to tear himself away from his monitor.

"Sergeant Meyers should be up here any minute. Alsgard is preparing a comm rendezvous with Ladon Radim. And I've already set up a standby SAR team and transferred the ten most probable groups responsible for this to both your accounts." Woolsey nods.

"Good work, Major." In the same moment, Meyers arrives back at the Control Room and Woolsey beckons the Sergeant and Sheppard into the conference room. He's already resigned himself to stay outside and find something to keep him busy to distract him, but shortly before entering the room, Sheppard says something to Woolsey. Then the Colonel turns around again and gestures for him to follow them into the conference room.

He takes care not to jump up from his seat but to maintain a professional façade, busy but controlled and focused. If he wouldn't concentrate on that, he'd probably already gated to that planet and gutted everyone who'd let that happen. Inside the conference room, Sheppard and Woolsey have already taken their seats, while Meyers remains standing at attention, with his back rigid. The Sergeant tries to simply stare at the wall opposite him, but he can already see shame in his eyes.

As he takes his seat, Sheppard simply gestures at Meyers. "At ease, Sergeant." In a textbook move, Meyers changes his posture, but the rigidness doesn't leave him.

"Please, have a seat, Sergeant.", Woolsey offers.

But all he gets from Meyers is a very formal "I'd rather keep standing, sir." Sheppard and Woolsey share a look that says very clearly that they already know Meyers is everything but ready to talk to them. But when a Marine makes up his or her mind, nothing short of a nine-millimeter can change that. And sometimes not even that helps.

"We aren't here to reprimand you, Sergeant. It's quite alright to sit down." Obviously, Woolsey still has to learn a lot about Marines.

"Thank you, sir, but I would rather…" Sheppard throws him a look that tells him "Hey, you've been on a couple of missions with this guy. Make him fucking sit down already."

So he clears his throat and says softly: "Just sit down, Sergeant." It's taken him quite an effort not to insert any "fucking", "bloody" or the like into that sentence and to say it without any other undertone than a little weariness, but he's got the distinct feeling that part of Meyers' display of Marine hard-headedness has something to do with the fact that Laura Cadman's boyfriend is one of the officers present. But he really doesn't want to shout at Meyers… well, not _much_. All he wants is to know what the _hell_ happened back on that planet.

To their collective surprise, that soft command actually makes Meyers sit down, although still with his back rigid and his gaze focused solely on the wall behind Woolsey. "Now, Sergeant, please tell us everything from the beginning." And so Meyers starts to tell them in very formal, clipped tone how everything had been fine at the beginning and suddenly went down the drain.

All throughout this, Sheppard keeps sneaking him glances, but he manages to hold up the professional façade, even when Meyers tells them that Laura has been wounded in the skirmish. It's becoming obvious very fast to him that Meyers feels guilty for letting their attackers escape with Laura and Keller, although he'd just been following orders. And if Laura hadn't ordered him to stay behind and get Teyla back to Atlantis, there would have been no one able to tell them what happened… and the three last chevrons of the planet the two women were probably brought to. Meyers probably knows all of that himself, but he knows well enough that things like this are no match against a guilty conscience.

When Meyers is done, Woolsey is the first to speak up again. "Well, Sergeant, thank you for your very helpful report. You are excused now." That's the first time Meyers removes his gaze from the wall, as if waking up from a daze. It's pretty clear that he's suffering from shock. Sheppard seems to have seen it as well and just gives the Sergeant a short nod. He gets up, still a little beside himself, to leave the room and in the same moment Alsgard hails Woolsey, telling him that they have a contact with Ladon Radim. Immediately, they all get up to leave the room.

But before he can follow Woolsey and Sheppard to the screen in the Control Room, Meyers clears his throat and says, still rather quietly: "Sir, can I have a word with you?"

He'd love to tell the Sergeant to go back to the infirmary, get some sedatives and head for his quarters, because he wants to be there when they question Radim, but Meyers looks genuinely distressed. "Sure. What is it?"

He's not quite sure what's coming now, but he has the distinct feeling that it has something to do with Laura and the capture. "I… want to apologize, sir."

Well, that's _not_ what he expected. But maybe it's just seeing merry mischievous Sergeant Will Meyers all cast down and very Marine that surprises him so much. "For what?"

"For letting them take the Lieutenant. And Dr. Keller, of course." Meyers still tries to avert his eyes, and that's telling him a lot. For example that he isn't only ashamed to admit to his boss that he let his girlfriend and the base's CMO get captured on his watch but also that he probably considers Laura a friend – although he's sure that Meyers would never admit to that – and feels like he failed her.

That only adds to his own guilty conscience at accusing Laura of passing too much time with Meyers – or any other guy on the base, that is – and he hopes that he can reassure Meyers enough with simply saying: "Lieutenant Cadman ordered you out. You did the right thing, Sergeant."

That prompts a rueful half-grin from the Sergeant. "Still… thought you'd kill me if I got back without them, sir."

Well… for a moment he _had_ felt like ripping Meyers' head off. But then he'd tamped down the immediate surge of worry and fear in favor of keeping a clear head and up until now he's been able to hold his usual iron clamps around his heart. "I don't kill subordinates who listen to orders, Sergeant."

"That's what I was hoping for, sir." _Finally_. The old Meyers is slowly returning, and that's even kind of reassuring. "By the way… she put up a hell of a fight. They both did."

He's sure they did. Wouldn't have been like Laura Cadman at all if she'd just let someone drag her through the 'Gate. And it's sure also part of her effort that Keller didn't cower in fear. In a sense, that makes him damn proud of his Laura and even more sorry that he'd let his exhaustion get the better of him and let his jealousy prevail the day before. "Yeah, that's the Atlantis women we all know." And then, on an impulse and because he feels like he owes that to Meyers, he says: "I'll keep you in the loop, Sergeant."

Meyers looks a little surprised. Obviously not what _he_ has expected from his boss. "Thank you, sir. I'm sure… I'm _positive_ we'll find her. Them."

He nods. They will. They don't have any other option left, anyway. "I know. Now, come on, get going, Sergeant."

Meyers recognizes a dismissal when he sees one. "Yes, sir." With a last casual salute he's gone, hopefully to the infirmary or his quarters, but if the Sergeant is anything like himself in that regard it'll probably be more like the gym or the shooting range. And he doesn't blame him.

However, _he_ still has a job to do. He walks over to the screen where Ladon Radim is crouching in front of one of their stationary MALPs. He can see that Sheppard and Woolsey both try to be civil, but that so far Radim hasn't had any satisfactory answers for them. He comes to stand at Sheppard's right, folding his arms, resolved to let Sheppard do all the talking.

"So you're telling us you don't know of _any_ groups of regular or irregular Genii who might have teamed up with Hybrids?" Of course. That was to be expected. Even if they knew, they'd be destined not to tell them, because that would result in _very_ strained diplomatic relations.

Radim nods. "Yes. I know you don't believe me, but I'm positive that I haven't heard _anything_ about something like this. I'd have told you immediately, honestly." Sure. Just like he'd told them the truth when they'd used them to stage a coup a few years back. Or when, time and again, Atlantis teams have been ambushed by people in Genii uniforms or with Genii weapons.

"We know that, Mr. Radim. But please, check again if there are _any_ known groups on planets with the combination we just gave you. Our soldier was absolutely sure that he recognized Genii uniforms." Woolsey is still trying to be diplomatic, and again he's grateful that he doesn't have to lead this conversation. He'd have much more difficulties to remain civil.

Radim shrugs. "Could have been stolen uniforms. Time and again, that happens."

Sheppard takes a deep breath, and it's obvious that _his_ patience is already starting to run out. "Then, Radim, for the sake of the _friendship_ between our people, _please_ try to find out if there have been any bigger quantities of stolen uniforms."

The Genii leader is very aware of the fact that he should better try to stay on their good side in this, so he makes an effort to hide his disinterest and says: "We'll try, Sheppard. And we'll give you word once we hear anything about these men." Well, there's a good Genii.

Sheppard wants to answer something, but Woolsey, not oblivious to the growing impatience and probably worried about the diplomatic relations between Atlantis and the Genii, manages to be faster. "We really appreciate this, Mr. Radim. Thank you for your time. Atlantis out." When the screen is blank again, Woolsey turns around to face his two ranking officers. "Well… any suggestions?"

They look at each other, and then Sheppard speaks up again: "We need to send a team to M5K-758 and question the people there and to see if the DHD tells us anything about where they went. I'll get Rodney on the case. Major, I want you to give out the order to look out for every little suspicious bit to all the teams currently off-world or scheduled to go off-world in the next two days." He wants to acknowledge and get to work immediately, but Woolsey gives Sheppard a look that says pretty clearly "I'm _still_ your boss, no matter how often you forget that." and Sheppard clears his throat and says: "That is, if Mr. Woolsey approves of this."

"Of course I do." Yep, Woolsey knows how to needle Sheppard every once in a while, although he starts to suspect that by now it's become a kind of ritual between the two of them rather than serious differences.

"Thank you, sir." And of course the sarcastic answer that almost borders on insolent is part of the ritual as well. "Anyway… I better go and tell Ronon and Rodney about this…" Yeah, better Sheppard than himself, he thinks. Both Ronon and Rodney seem to have taken an interest in Jennifer Keller, and he really doesn't want to tell either of them that she happened to disappear on a mission that had been deemed perfectly save. "… and then see how Teyla's doing." Of course. That was to be expected. As a matter of fact, it surprises him that it comes pretty late, considering how protective Sheppard always is of Teyla.

Woolsey just nods. "See that you do, Colonel. And I want all of you in the conference room in two hours. I trust you to have a few more leads by then." With that, he disappears into his office.

The minute Woolsey has shut his door, Sheppard turns to him and says in a voice low enough that he's the only one hearing it over the buzz of the Control Room: "I know you'll be hearing this a lot in the next few hours, but: We'll find them. I want you to remember that. And I need you to stay sane. So don't you _dare_ work yourself to death with this one."

Well… that surprises him a little. Probably Sheppard's way of telling him not to lose his head over his girlfriend. Thing is: The only way to keep him away from letting his worry prevail is work, work and even more work. He sighs. "Wouldn't dare dream of it, sir."

"That's my second-in-command. Get to work." Sheppard claps him on the shoulder, and he just gives him a nod to go back and carry out his tasks.

* * *

**A/N: **Yet another chapter... but don't get used to it ;) I just really wanted to upload this one, because several people have been asking for "the other side of the fence", and I didn't want to let you hanging because on Monday I scamper off home again, with no laptop and no back-up hard-drive (my dad lets me use one of his flash drives, at least for my text files... TPTB bless my dad ;)) and don't know when I'll be able to up-date again.


	6. Five

**Five**

"Laura?" She groans. Not now. "Laura?" _Not now._ Her body feels like someone drove over it with some kind of steamroller, and repeatedly. All she wants to do is stay in the exact way she is now, because every change might result in even _more_ pain. "Laura, please, wake up." Wake up? Hey, she _is_ already awake. She doesn't have much choice anyway, what with the burning pain in her thigh and everything. "Lieutenant Cadman, wake the hell up!"

She groans again and finally opens her eyes. Or well, the one that isn't swollen shut. "Only if _you_ shut the hell up, Doc." She'd meant to say it slightly annoyed, but what really comes out is a version that sounds pretty croaked and miserable.

"Knew I'd get you awake with that. All you Marines are pretty predictable." So what? There's a reason they all react immediately to orders. She's trying to give Keller her best dark stare, but it probably won't do much good, because to her, her face feels like it's just a mass of bruises.

Suppressing another groan, she tries sitting up to be able to survey her surroundings. The first thing she notices is that they have taken away the vest and her weapons, but haven't bound her hands. The second thing is that she and Keller are locked in cells opposite each other, separated by a corridor of about six or seven feet. Keller still has her vest, but no weapons as far as she can see. And the doctor looks a little disheveled and has a split lip, but otherwise she's okay.

"Well, I'm glad you're fine enough to gloat." That was supposed to sound disgruntled, but again her voice betrays her. She dares clearing her throat and finds herself coughing pretty violently. Whatever they did to her, they were thorough.

"I wasn't… okay, maybe a little. Anyway… how are you feeling?" She takes a deep breath, testing how her ribs feel and to her relief breathing comes easy to her, considering the circumstances. So she's about to state that she's fine, but Keller knows her too well. "And don't tell me you're feeling "fine". So? How are you _really_ feeling?" Doctors still amaze her. Though Carson is older than Keller and much more experienced, they both share this strong tendency to do their job everywhere, no matter what the circumstances and consequences are. And the ability to see through any stalling acts and pretending Marines get to learn in their long history of telling themselves a band-aid is all they need to patch up this pesky bullet wound.

"Like hell.", is all she grunts, and really, what is there more to say? The thigh that was grazed by the two bullets burns like there is no tomorrow, her face feels like a professional boxing heavyweight champion just had a go at it, and she's not quite sure what exactly happened to her left ankle. Might be broken, might be only sprained. But that's not important, anyway. What _is_ important, is to assess their situation; find out where they are, who captured them, why they are here.

"Could you be a _little_ more specific, Laura?" Of course Keller would have other priorities, but maybe that's just her way to distract her from the danger they might be in right now. She's been around enough people who concentrate on work to blend out fear, anxiety and dread that she knows how this looks. And she has of course learned that it's necessary on missions to give her medic a detailed report about any injuries she might have. She sighs again and tries to pull herself up a little more, trying to ignore all the pain. If Evan – just a zoomie, after all – can do it, she – being a jarhead and everything – should be able to do it as well.

"Two grazes on the right thigh, left ankle either broken or sprained, face a mess, no noticeable injuries in the abdomen or the chest. Satisfied?" Keller frowns, but doesn't snap back, only looks worried. "Come on, Doc, it looks worse than it feels, honestly."

"That's what you soldiers all say. And then it's up to me and Carson to sew you back together. Is that something they teach you in your academies, like in real classes?" For some reason, the genuine irritation on Keller's face makes her laugh. "Hey, I wasn't joking. I mean that. Just yesterday I had this Russian soldier on my table, just barely able to breath and right before Clavier put him to sleep he was trying to tell me that he was fine and just needed some aspirin. Honestly, you're all just not right in those heads of yours.", Keller huffs and it only serves to make her laugh a little harder. She's never seen Keller so worked up before, and it hardens her assumption that she's already having a hard time here. Which brings her back to _her_ priority list.

"I'm still right enough in that head of mine that I know that there are some things more important than how I'm feeling." She smirks, but gets serious again. "You been in these situations before, Doc?"

Keller seems to have grasped what her problem is fast enough and just nods. "Yes. And please… could you stop calling me "Doc"?" Still some lingering irritation in Keller's voice, so she decides to play along.

"Sure. Why?"

Keller rolls her eyes and says a little unnerved: "Because I have a name. A _first_ name."

Well… okay… Keller's right about that. She was just so accustomed to call her "Doc", because that's what all the other soldiers do as well. She decides to humor the doctor. "Alright… Jennifer."

Now a little less disgruntled, Keller says: "Jen is fine as well."

Great. Now they can finally get to the really important issue. "Okay… now… you know the drill? You let me do the talking, you don't do anything much beside appearing harmless. No heroics, and I repeat, _no_ heroics. Honestly, Jen, we don't know what we're dealing with here, and it's my _job_ to protect you. Understood?" If… when she gets home, she probably owes Evan an apology for all the times she felt patronized by him whenever he gave out orders like this. She'd known that he'd been right even back then, of course, but it's quite a different thing to really _understand_ why he'd issued them.

"Yes. Laura?" Now the scared civilian does show through a little, because she can hear a slight wavering in Keller's… Jen's voice.

"What is it?" It's not easy keeping impatience fully out of her voice, but it wouldn't be fair to treat Jen like she would treat a Marine showing fear in such a situation.

"You think we'll get out of here?" Honestly? She hasn't the slightest clue, because there are a lot of "ifs" to be considered. For example…only _if_ Sergeant Meyers has made it back to Atlantis they will be aware of the fact that Jen and her are in trouble. And only then they will start searching for them right away. And only _if_ they find them in time an SAR mission will be successful. And only _if_…

_God_, suddenly she wishes with all her heart she'd have send Evan this message about being sorry. Or at least have said a proper good-bye. If Meyers really reached Atlantis, Evan will be worried _sick_ about her and she feels so very sorry for letting her pride getting the better of her, although she _knew_ that exhaustion was to blame for his outburst and that he was sorry for all the hurtful stuff as soon as he'd said it.

But that's something she needs to keep to herself, because she has a civilian doctor to take care of and a mission to accomplish. So all she does is putting on the most confident face possible under the circumstances and saying: "'Course we will. They already made one of the three biggest blunders."

Jen perks up again, a little wary. "They did?"

She grins, as far as that's possible. "Yep. Never, under no circumstances, underestimate a woman just because she is one." And it's true. They've bound neither her hands nor her feet, and even in a slightly weakened state, she can wreak enough havoc with them that their captors might probably soon wish they had tied her up very neatly. And Jen still has her vest, if not her Beretta, the knife of any of her medical stuff. They might think they identified the bigger thread correctly, but somehow she has enough faith in Jennifer Keller to know that this little doctor is capable of more than she thinks.

Jen, however, is still not quite convinced. "Alright… what are the other two?"

She still grins. "Well… "Never get involved in a land war in Asia." would be the first and…" Dammit, she shouldn't have said that. It only serves to remind her of Evan, and she fervently needs to shut any thought of him out if she wants to keep a clear head throughout this.

Jen, though, didn't quite grasp the allusion and replies with a startled "Never _what_?"

"Oh. Err… never mind the second one." Come on, swallow that, she thinks. Don't make me talk about that book or I might lose it. That makes her kind of furious at herself, because she always tries so hard to be professional, not let her personal life influence her performance, put her emotions behind a wall when she has to… to be just like Evan. And then, when she's put to the test for the first time, she's already screwing it up in the first few hours? So much for being ready to make Captain.

"Okaaay… Now… what?" She wants to breath a sigh of relief and thank Jen for that simple answer, for unknowingly pushing her to focus on the mission again.

"We wait for them. I doubt they left us here to rot since they went through so much trouble to get us. Sooner or later, they'll be back again and then we'll get to see what they want from us." Jennifer doesn't look too convinced. In fact, she seems everything but happy at the prospect of having to face their captors again. But it's really all they can do at the moment. Of course she doesn't plan on simply let those guys talk and probably beat them again, but she's almost positive that this time they _are_ monitored, and she knows better than to give away what she intends to do when they finally are back again.

"Laura… can I ask you something?" She shrugs. Sure. "How that hell can you stay so calm? I mean… you got open wounds and must be in pain and everything… and you still… How do you soldiers do that?" That's how Jennifer sees her? _Calm_? She feels everything but, but obviously at least for now she does a good job of hiding it.

She gives her a short half-grin. "They have like real classes for that at our academies." That makes Jennifer smile involuntarily, and because she sympathizes with the little doctor, she adds: "Hey, Jen, just remember: When the going gets tough…"

"The tough get going.", Jen finishes and obviously that's enough to bring back a little confidence for now. She just hopes it'll hold up when their captors are back.

* * *

**A/N: **And here we go again. After I successfully managed to wreck my _mother's _laptop as well and nearly wrecked the 12 GB flash drive my dad gave me as a temporary replacement for the more or less fried back-up harddrive, I'm not sure if I shouldn't quit electronics altogether. Seems like I'm some kind of human EMP-field or something...

Anyway: In the meantime I'll just keep writing and publishing as much as I can, because I still have some very faithful readers whom I like very much and whom I don't want to apologize under any circumstances. Thanks for still reading and reviewing this :)


	7. Six

**Six**

He knows he shouldn't be here. He knows he should be maybe in the gym or behind his desk or – best of all – in his bed, but he simply couldn't help it. After getting back from questioning the people on M5K-758, he'd felt a terrible fatigue setting in and had suddenly found himself in front of Laura's quarters… and before he knew what he was doing had convinced the city to let him in. And now he's sitting on her bed, his elbows on his thighs and his eyes fixed on some invisible spot on the wall.

Through his head, there is the mission to M5K-758 running again. They'd taken a jumper and cloaked, but the traders' temporary settlement Meyers had described had been already gone, trampled grass and several bullets in the ground the only hint that there had been something happening. That had been a near positive clue that the traders had had something to do with the whole thing… that it had been a set-up. Teyla, who had insisted on coming along with them, even against Sheppard's protestations, had been seriously distressed at the thought that the traders – obviously good friends of hers – could have been involved in something like this.

He knows she considers Laura and Dr. Keller her friends, and the look on her face when the evidence they'd found had hardened their suspicions that this ambush had been partly the fault of Hamrash and his people, had clearly told him that she blames herself for trusting them and making it possible for two of her friends to get hurt.

He'd had a few things on his mind he'd really liked to do to this Hamrash back on that planet, but what good would have brought it them if he'd resorted to dark brooding? So instead of entertaining violent fantasies of hunting down those traders, he'd simply walked up to Teyla, made sure no one around was listening and had told her that none of this had been her fault. She'd simply smiled one of her distressed little half-smiles and thanked him, saying that it meant a lot to her coming from him. He'd just bravely smiled back and gotten on with his job.

And then there had been Ronon. The big guy had been even more silent than usual and had radiated off a kind of grim determination he'd rarely seen when examining the tracks and hints they'd found. He'd had the strange feeling that the traders were even lucky if _he_ was the one finding them instead of Ronon. The big guy's barely concealed aggression at Jennifer Keller's abductors had eventually broken through when Ronon's need to fight had clashed with Rodney's unnerving nervous arrogance multiplied by the obvious worry for the doctor. He'd nearly fired a round from his P90 in the air to stop them when Ronon and Rodney had started getting at each other's throats. Thankfully, Teyla had been faster than him and had been able to calm them down.

In the end, they'd at least come back with five 'Gate addresses, because despite everything Rodney had managed to extract them and had taken them for further examination. They'd been there the whole day, following every possible lead they had, examining the camping ground of the traders, the way to the 'Gate… and when they'd been back, Sheppard had quietly taken him aside, telling him in no uncertain terms that he expected him to head straight for his quarters, ignore the paperwork on his desk – _all_ the paperwork – and fall right into bed.

But instead… he'd somehow taken a turn somewhere and ended up in front of Laura's quarters. When he'd been inside, he hadn't had the slightest clue what to do for a moment, had simply looked around, taking in the neatly folded bed – a little absentminded smile had grazed his face, because that's just so unlike Laura and so _Marine_ – the pictures on the wall, the sandbag in a corner, the slightly cluttered desk… it then occurred to him that he'd never been in here before, because out of some unspoken agreement, they usually spend their nights together in his quarters.

He sighs and tears his eyes away from the opposite wall. His gaze swerves around and gets caught by something on her bed stand… one of the picture frames. Not the one showing her in her Marine dress blues with her parents or the ones showing her with friends from Earth and from Atlantis… No, it's the one showing them together. Both of them are in their beach attire, on a beach on the mainland, and he's just grabbed her from behind to tackle her. Both of them are laughing.

Another smile grazes his face. He's got _no_ idea why she took that picture of all the ones Sheppard had taken that day a few weeks ago. But then he shakes his head again. He _really_ shouldn't be here. And he shouldn't be getting wistful like this, because she's still alive and out there, and in two days tops she'll be back here, safe and sound and without a scratch.

Honestly, he doesn't know why he's getting all soppy like this. She's been on _countless_ off-world missions without him since they started this, and not once he'd let the worry distract him like this, because he has every trust in her abilities as a soldier. Sure, she might have gotten hit, but she's got enough sense in that pretty head of hers to get herself out of sticky situations. So why can't he just rely on this trust now? Why can't he shake that damn bad feeling deep down in his stomach that tells him she's headed right into trouble that might be too big for her to handle?

He runs a hand over his eyes. It's probably just the exhaustion and the worry and… and the fact that she never before left with an argument unsettled. They'd always somehow managed to make up before one of them had been sent off-world, but this is the first time they didn't give themselves the chance to at least say a quick sorry and promise to talk it through once they get back. And isn't it standard in books and movies to let something _terrible_ happen in this case, just to teach the protagonists a lesson about not letting the sun set on an argument?

A little agitated, he hits the bed under him with his hand. His exhaustion and worry is rapidly starting to get the better of him, making him think strange thoughts and distracting him from his actual work. Sheppard was right. He should be in his bed, getting eight hours of sleep, to be ready for another day of trying to find her. But… the thought of going back to his own quarters, where somehow everything turned into reminding him of her in the last three months, is not exactly a nice one.

Here, though, her presence is there as well, but not _their_ presence. Defeated, he sighs and lies down on his back. The moment he does it, he feels a huge wave of sleepiness wash over him and immediately regrets lying down. But even before he can gather up enough energy to get up again, he falls asleep, accompanied by the images of her back on that beach… and the stubborn determination to hold on to the hope that they'll find her before it's too late.

* * *

**A/N:** Huh... that one was really short, wasn't it? I'm not even really sure if it makes sense, but I just had this image of Lorne alone in Laura's quarters in my head, and knew I'd want to write this, even if it maybe takes out some tempo of the story. Hope you can at least see why I'd wanted to include it ;)


	8. Seven

**Seven**

It's starting to get on her nerves, that burning sensation in her thigh. She's had quite a few graze wounds, and she could swear that none of them ever hurt like this. Something's not right, and she knows she should tell Jennifer, but she doesn't want to worry her more than she already is. And Jennifer is _very_ worried. She desperately needs to distract her, to turn her focus away from struggling against losing hope. So she takes a deep breath.

"Jen… do me a favor?" The doctor stops her pacing and looks at her, a little startled. "Stop that caged tiger thing and sit down. You're starting to make me dizzy." Well… dizzy she _does_ feel, but as much as she would like to pretend, that's definitely not from watching Jen pace in her cell. She's already started to feel the first tendrils of fever creeping up on her, alternating between slightly shivering and feeling like throwing off her jacket because it's much too warm inside.

"Oh… uh… I just… I'm sorry." Jennifer doesn't even have a snappy comeback, simply sits down with her back to the wall again, and that's not good. But how to distract… oh, right, yes, she's got an idea.

"Not a problem. Say, Jen… I was wondering… what exactly did Ronon teach you when you were working out?" Huh. Is that some slight color on Jen's cheeks she sees there in the harsh light from their cells' ceiling? Now she's starting to get interested in what exactly she will answer. Originally, she had intended to just find out if Jen acquired any additional fighting skills to those taught in the classes for female off-world personal, but now there's suddenly a lot more subtext.

"You… won't stop asking if I simply said that this is none of your business, will you?" She allows herself a grin. Nope, not a chance in hell. This is already way too interesting.

"You could always try… but it would be easier for both of us if you just spill the beans. So?" Jennifer grimaces. Funny how well pretending that this is just a girls' poker night with lots of gossiping and laughing already works.

"So nothing. He drags me through the city, shows me some moves and generally wipes the floor with me. Not much to it, really." Mh, yeah, sure. No smoldering looks from under those dread locks, no special gentle touches when patching up a certain Satedan…

"You know, if this isn't such a big deal anyway… why did you jump at my throat so fast a few hours back?" Jennifer's cheeks grow even darker. Yep, dead on target.

"I didn't… alright, I did. And why is that conversation turning into an interrogation, huh? _I_ never grilled you like that about a certain Major." No, she didn't. What she did was grilling _Carson_ and trying to wheedle it out of her with little asides and allusions and all that stuff. So Jennifer Keller should be really glad that _she_ chose the frontal assault rather than the backstabbing.

"I'm not interrogating you. I'm just using some idle time to catch up with a friend on her off-duty life. Nothing wrong with that." Actually, it's more like trying to keep up the pretense of being somewhere else than a damp cell tract, in the hands of some ragtag mixture of Genii and Hybrids who obviously seem to have chosen the simple tactic of isolating them and already starting to feel sick. And there is a lot wrong with _that_. She'd love to talk strategy with Jennifer, but there's no way in hell she's going to tell these bastards anything about what she's planning.

"Yeah, sure." Jennifer snorts. "But… honestly, Laura, there's nothing to talk about. Ronon and I… we're just friends." Well… seems like Jennifer is really determined to keep this to herself… but she's got another topic up her sleeve.

"If you say so… I take it then that there's nothing to the rumors going round about Rodney McKay and…" But before she can finish the sentence, the door at the end of the hallway between their cells is opened and a group of four individuals – the leader of the group that abducted them and three Hybrids – come to stand between their cells.

"Well, sorry to interrupt your little heart to heart, ladies, but we have a few questions." Ah. So they are here for interrogation. Nothing new under the sun then. And she can handle that, she knows that.

"Ask Google." She should have probably kept her mouth shut, but that was just too tempting. And of course it secures her the attention of everyone in the room. The Genii walks up to the bars of her cell and gives her a sneer.

"Your mouth is far too big for a woman in your condition… Lieutenant Cadman." The… _bastards_. They had a look at her dog tags when both she and Jennifer had been out. Somehow the thought of one of them getting so close to her and touch her _dog tags_ makes her shiver. And someone told them her rank… a bad feeling rises in her guts. But she can't allow them to see this, so she just shrugs, trying to appear unfazed.

"You really know how to charm a girl." Behind the Genii, she can see Jennifer biting her lip, trying to heed her orders to stay quiet. Come on, Jen, she thinks, it's not that hard keeping your mouth shut.

"Yes, so they like to tell me. And you're quite the charmer yourself. But as much as I would like to continue this conversation, I'm afraid I can't. There are some unpleasant matters that need to be taken care of first." God, he's going for the "cultured rogue"-approach. She always hated guys who did that, because those are always the worst. Those always smile and are nice to you while they hurt you… because hurting you gives them a sick great pleasure.

Still trying to uphold her bored "Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt."-look she uses the wall behind her to haul herself up. Then she walks over to the bars. Determined not to let them see any weakness, she forces herself to keep the limping to a minimum and ignore the pain shooting up from her thigh and her ankle. "Alright, then let's get this over with."

For a moment, it's quiet enough that you could hear a pin drop, but then the Genii explodes into laughter. What the…? "You sure also have a very big opinion of yourself, Lieutenant. What gave you the idea that we were in any way interested in _you_?" Crap, is all she can think of for a moment. They know exactly who's the soldier and who's the civilian. "I mean, don't take this as an offence, but we were told that you are a soldier, and while I don't hold female soldiers in much esteem, I still have a feeling that you are at least trained well enough to withstand interrogation a little longer than… our good doctor here."

With that, he turns around to face Jennifer who tries very hard to put on a face rivaling hers in defiance, but Jennifer Keller has never been a good poker face. She snorts. "She's of no use to you. She doesn't know anything." Well, it's at least worth a try, isn't it?

But without turning around, the Genii simply says in a suddenly ice-cold voice: "I'll be the judge of that." Then he nods towards the Hybrids nearer to him and orders them to get Jennifer out of her cell. The moment two of them grab her, she starts struggling again, but she manages to catch the doctor's eyes and shakes her head no. It's futile now and would just be a waste of energy. As they drag Jennifer through the heavy door, she doesn't make a sound, which surprises her and makes her pay Jennifer more than just a little grudging respect.

But that won't help Jen withstand whatever they will do to her and when they have closed the door behind them she realizes that she just did a pisspoor job of protecting Jennifer. She has just let them grab her and leave with her and she didn't even _try_ to do something worth mentioning against that. How is she supposed to ever face Evan again, let alone Ronon Dex and Rodney McKay?

Before she knows it, an anguished unarticulated shout has escaped her and she has rattled the bars in front of her with all the anger and helplessness she feels inside. And now that their captors have gone again, the strength that made her stand up on two injured legs is starting to wear off. Barely holding back furious tears at her incompetence, she turns around and slides down to the ground with her back to the bars.

* * *

**A/N:** Huh... here we go again. At least I now found out what made my mother's laptop act all wonky and how to get past it. Now, if everything was so easy...

Anyway, lots of thanks for your patience and best of luck to **Eva** for her exams. I'm already waiting impatiently for a new chapter of your story, dear ;)


	9. Eight

**Eight**

Two days and they still haven't heard anything about Keller's and Laura's whereabouts. They have gotten a few hints, some clues… but nothing definite. They have checked all the 'Gate addresses they had dragged out of the DHD on M5K-758, but none of them had been inhabited. At least Ronon found tracks on one of them that indicated that this was the planet they used as a transfer station to cover up their original heading.

But other than that… they had a few leads on whereto the traders might have disappeared, and they haven't checked all of them yet, so maybe… _maybe_ something will come out of that. And then there's also been some strange communication going on in Genii and Hybrid space. He knows _that_ best, because after the initial mission to M5K-758 Sheppard had pulled him off the search teams and had given him the jobs of monitoring said communications and organizing the search teams from Atlantis.

He really wants to be understanding about it, thinking that Sheppard just wanted his 2IC back in Atlantis when he himself is off with the search teams, and that they are simply taking turns but there's this nagging little voice telling him that Sheppard simply doesn't trust him to be professional enough not to let his personal involvement in this case influence his judgment on off-world missions. Of course Sheppard hasn't _said_ anything else on that subject, but… he still can't shake off the distinct feeling that he's been pulled off the off-world search for a reason.

Frowning he stares at the plate in front of him. He's been sitting here for over an hour now – half of that with Tom Moore opposite him trying his best to distract him with sharing some stuff about his last mission before the other Major had given up and gone in search of his former 2IC – and still hasn't eaten at least half of what's on there. In fact, he's barely eaten _anything_ other than the absolute necessary since Meyers stumbling into the 'Gate Control Room two days ago.

"You still want to eat that?" He blinks and looks up into the face of Rodney McKay. Aw, no. Not McKay.

"You got to ask, Rodney? The man's been sitting in front of that plate for half an eternity now." He blinks again and sees Ronon sitting down beside McKay. What the…?

"Well, some of us do believe in politeness, Caveman. Now… you think he's realized I've been asking _him_?" Okay, that's enough. Whatever the two of them are up to, he'll not just sit by and let it happen.

"Hello, _he_ is right here. And _he_ can hear you, Doc." McKay looks back at him, obviously totally unfazed by his disgruntled facial expression.

"Ah, that's great. Means you're still… what do they call it… ah, yes, fit for duty. Now, you gonna eat that, Romeo?" He looks at his plate again. No, probably not. Still… that's Rodney McKay, and he has this stupid urge not to give up too easily to this man.

"I was, but you really look starving, Doc. Honestly, Ronon… he looks like he's going to pass out any minute, doesn't he?" Ronon doesn't say anything, just smirks.

McKay on the other hand immediately grabs his plate and drags it over to his place. "Finally someone who notices…" Then his face becomes his usual unnerved expression. "Alright, I get it." Now both himself and Ronon are barely hiding smug grins. "Why do I always fall for that trick, anyway?"

"Because you're just too concerned about saving the galaxy. We understand that, really." McKay wants to answer something, but then thinks better of it and simply starts devouring what's left of his steak. Almost a pity, because needling McKay always serves well as a diversion. "Anyway… is there any particular reason you two just appeared out of thin air?" He has some suspicions about that, but he's willing to let himself be convinced otherwise.

McKay stops eating for a moment. "Well, actually Sheppard said…" Immediately Ronon elbows him… not exactly gently. That must have hurt. " Ow! Alright… I'm just here for the food."

He snorts. "No kidding."

That prompts another gloomy look from McKay, but Ronon barges in now. "Cadman said you're not up to par. Wanna see if that's true." What the…? No way she said that. And if she did, he'll prove her wrong the moment she's back. "Not up to par" his ass. And anyway, he realizes that this is just the thing he needs now. Beating the crap out of someone who isn't afraid of hitting back. And Ronon looks like he could use some good hand-to-hand action himself.

He nods. "Alright, if you insist. When?"

Ronon grins and turns to McKay. "Told you he'd go for that.", which only makes McKay roll his eyes. He now has a further inkling on what this is all about. And then the Satedan turns back to him. "How 'bout now?"

That prompts a smirk from him. "What, and leave the Doc alone here?" McKay doesn't even swallow, just waves his fork through the air.

"Oh, don't mind me. Just go and do this Tarzan thing of banging your chests at each other. I'll behave like a civilized man and eat my dinner." He looks at Ronon again who just shrugs. In a kind of silent understanding, they both get up and Ronon claps Rodney on his shoulder.

"If you change your mind… you know where to find us." A mirthless laugh escapes McKay's mouth.

"Yeah, probably in the infirmary.", is the only thing they get and so they just leave for the work-out room, grinning each other… understanding each other.

After arriving there, he just tosses his jacket in the nearest corner, gets rid of his boots and they get into fighting stance. _Finally_ something to put his restless energy into. He knows he doesn't stand much chances against Ronon, but that's exactly what he wants right now, with this stupid feeling of getting stuck, because it means that he can go in full force without being afraid to hurt his opponent too much.

So he doesn't waste any time with assessing his opponent's weaknesses, like he usually does, but brings a frontal assault, bending his body to kick Ronon in his mid-section. Of course Ronon just grabs his leg and flings him around, landing him on the floor, hard. For a moment, his lungs are devoid of any air, but he just gets back on his feet, determined not to give up until he has brought Ronon down just once.

The moment he's up, Ronon lunges at him, but he manages to sidestep him, grab the back of Ronon's shirt and drag him over his leg. But Ronon doesn't stumble, turns around and manages to use his momentum to throw him to the ground again.

In the end he has no idea how long they have been fighting, but it's almost dark outside, when he finally manages to catch Ronon by surprise and trip him. The big man lands on the floor with a grunt and gives him a grin. "About time, Major. Thought you'd let me beat you into all eternity."

"Quite frankly… I thought so, too." With an exhausted little laugh, he plunges down on the floor beside Ronon. God, that feels so _good_. All the nervous energy pent up inside of him, all the self-reproaches, the anger at not being able to find her… all that finally found _somewhere_ to go, and for the moment he feels pleasantly beat. For a while, both of them are silent, just panting and trying to get their breath back after what seems like an eternity of sparring. Then he asks Ronon what he wanted to know since they started this: "Anyway… she really said that? That I'm not "up to par"?"

Ronon sits up and grins at him. "No. Actually Sheppard told me to go and distract you, 'cause your broodin' was giving him headaches." Right. Exactly what he had suspected anyway. At first impulse he wants to be irritated at that because he really doesn't like being manipulated, but then he realizes that Sheppard actually read him quite well, knowing he wouldn't get anything out of him anyway and instead of talking gave him a way of getting rid of his issues without getting in actual danger for not being focused enough.

He sighs. "Oh. Great. Guess it's still better than that slip of a Lieutenant thinking I was no match for her." Huh. That sounded more glib than it was meant.

"You two got in a fight?"

How…? He decides to pretend nothing is wrong, because… well, it isn't. Not anymore, anyway. What they've been fighting about… seems to be so insignificant now that the memory of the fight is almost unreal to him. The thing that _does_ still feel very real is the simple want to make it all right again. But that's nothing Ronon needs to know. That's something _no one_ apart from him and Laura needs to know. "Huh? No. What gives you that idea?"

But Ronon isn't fooled easily. "I'm not as blind and deaf as everyone thinks. So what…"

"Ronon, come in. Is Major Lorne still with you?" Saved by the bell. Or, well, Sheppard calling Ronon via comm system.

"Yeah."

"Bring him down to the Control Room. We have something." Without another word, they just share a look and then both scramble to their feet. He doesn't even take time for putting on his boots again, simply grabs them and his jacket and follows Ronon running down to the Control Room. So much for "feeling pleasantly beat" and "all issues fought off".

* * *

**A/N: **Again, I'm not really satisfied... there's plot development missing, but unfortunately the images of Ronon and Evan in a fight were stronger than me :D Which is why I decided to post the next chapter today as well, because there _is_ some plot development. And because I finished the story yesterday (okay, now that I said it it's only a question of time until the big EMP-day comes and wipes out all my data... CERN-activation, anyone?), and I really love some of the chapters that are yet to come ;)


	10. Nine

**Nine**

She has no idea how much time has passed since they took Jennifer away, but there's one thing she knows for sure now: Something is seriously wrong with her. After Jennifer had disappeared she'd started to getting worse gradually. Minute after minute her fever had gotten worse, and the pain in her thigh had started to get searing. And now she's finding it hard to breath evenly and keep her eyes open. She's not at her breaking point yet, but she knows that she doesn't have much time left until she becomes useless.

If only… "Thank you for your cooperation, Doctor." The voice is enough to make her open her eyes and sit up again, even though that just serves to increase her dizziness. She can make out the Genii and the Hybrids again, as well as Jennifer Keller… being pushed into her cell instead of the cell on the opposite side. Then one of the Hybrids tosses something else into the cell.

"Don't mention it.", Jen spits, and she's again surprised at how acerbic that little doctor can be. Their captor only offers a laugh and then leaves again with his Hybrid minions. Now she's sure that they are being monitored from somewhere else. There's just no other reason why they would let them in one cell together.

She takes a deep breath and turns toward Jennifer. "Hey… how are you?"

Jennifer throws her a dark look which tells her very clearly that this is probably a very misplaced question. God, she just hopes they didn't touch her. "I think the more important question is: How are _you_?" With that, Jen comes over to her with something in her hand that she now can identify as Jennifer's med kit. What the…? She wants to ask, but the doctor kneels down beside her.

"I'm… fine. Well… mostly." That's not _entirely_ a lie, because honestly, there are a few spots on her body which are absolutely okay.

"I doubt that." With that, Jennifer reaches down and tries to tear open her BDUs' leg where the blood from the graze wounds has seeped through. She really wants to grit her teeth and keep silent, but whenever Jennifer so much as brushes against the leg, she has to gasp and clench her fists to stop herself from crying out. When Jennifer is done, she's only half-conscious anymore, but she's still clear enough to hear her whispered: "Holy _crap_."

She forces her eyes open again. "What is it?" Jennifer swallows, and it looks very much like she doesn't want to tell her what's wrong. "Jen, be honest."

After another swallow, Jennifer takes a deep breath and says: "It's the grazes. They've become inflamed. Either something was wrong with these bullets or you managed to catch some nasty bacteria on that planet. Anyway… I'm going to give you some broad-spectrum antibiotics and the strongest antipyretic I have. It's gonna be okay." They look at each other, and she can see very well that nothing will be okay if Jennifer doesn't get her to a decent infirmary and hooks her up to an IV soon.

"'Course." Shortly after that, she feels the pricks of various needles, and when the burning sensation fades to a dull itching – did Jennifer give her a dose of painkillers high enough to sedate a _horse_? – and the fever has cleared enough from her head, she finally realizes what's been bugging her ever since Jen started treating her. "What did you tell them, Jen?"

Jennifer averts her eyes and keeps hers fixed on the leg she's wrapping up provisionally. "Nothing. Keep still, otherwise the wrapping will hurt."

That just serves to raise her suspicions even further. Jen looks like she made a mistake and _knows_ it. "Jennifer, this is important. _What_ did you tell them?"

Jennifer keeps prodding and picking at her leg, and even with the painkillers it's starting to drive her mad, because the pain is still intense enough to irritate her. "Like I said: Nothing. Oh my… why didn't you tell me it was _this_ bad?"

She takes a deep breath. "'Cause it wasn't." Jennifer throws her a look that says "Like hell, Miss." And she lamely gestures and says: "Before, I mean. Now, Jennifer, enough with the stalling. What did you tell them?"

The doctor doesn't say anything, simply keeps dressing the wound with grim determination on her face. In between, she puts a lose strand behind her ear, and she can see that Jen's hand is trembling. That doesn't bode well. "I… nothing."

And finally she realizes what this diffuse bad feeling she's been having ever since Jennifer entered her cell had been about and is ready to smack her head. She should have seen _that_ one a lot earlier. "Good God… you _did_ tell them something. You made a trade-off. You'd never be allowed to treat me if they didn't know something."

Now Jennifer stops dressing her leg and bends down on her face, as if she wants to have a look at something there… and suddenly she says in a very low voice: "No. They _think_ they know something."

She blinks. Huh. Who would have thought? "Oh. Okay."

With a frown on her face and a little righteous indignation, Jennifer draws back and concentrates on her leg again. What the hell does she have to fiddle around with there for so long? "Yeah. I'm not as stupid as you all think."

Aw, come _on_. A little unnerved, she rolls her eyes. "Jennifer, _no one_ thinks you're stupid."

Now Jennifer is obviously done with her leg and moves further down to her ankle. While she starts prodding and turning her foot around, she quietly says: "Teyla does." Then, as if she hasn't said anything before that, she continues: "I can't feel much through this boot, but I guess you'll still need that and will not be able to able to pull it back on if I pull that off now, so there's not much I can do at the moment. I'll try putting on a brace, but you'll definitely be on crutches a few weeks when we get back. And you really should be careful with that."

Playing doctor again. Just like that. As if she hasn't just offered her quite the insight. She sighs. "Jennifer, I don't care about that stupid ankle right now. Teyla does _not_ think you're stupid. You're her kid's doc, for God's sake."

Seemingly unfazed by her reassurance, Jen continues taking rudimentary care of her ankle as if it was the most important thing right now. Obviously she's determined to make her forget her little slip of tongue. But that doesn't last very long. With sigh, she lets go of the ankle and says: "I didn't mean it like that. It's just that… every time I go off-world with someone like you or Teyla, I feel so… inadequate. You've got all these reflexes and know all this MacGyver stuff and I just… have to be dragged along. I always feel like… additional weight. _Dead_ additional weight."

She sighs herself. "It's not like that. Honestly, Jen…" She takes a deep breath. Painkillers are starting to make her sluggish, and she knows she has to do something about this. "Alright… can we talk about this when we get back? I… may need some stims. To counter-effect the painkillers."

She hopes that getting Jennifer's mind back on the medical track will help focus the other woman and keep her from retreating into self-pity. "Laura… I know you don't want to hear this, but… I don't think I can take the responsibility of drugging you even _more_."

Frustrated, she groans. "And _I_ don't think I can take the responsibility of falling asleep any moment. Remember what I told you my job was, Jen? Right. And I can't do that, if I'm asleep. Now, give me the stims or not?"

Come on, Jen. Keep me from falling asleep. Keep me from screwing up even more. Just come _on_. After another few seconds, Jennifer sighs. "Alright. Fine. But this is your responsibility, and yours alone. Anything happens, it's your fault." She nods, because she simply knows that everything that could happen if she was asleep would be worse than what could happen if she's awake. With another defeated sigh, Jennifer gives her another injection, and she feels the effect kick in almost immediately.

Relieved she leans back. "Alright, now… did they reveal anything about who they are and what they want?" The chances are very slim that they did, but if they really underestimated Jen…

"As a matter of fact… I think they did. That guy – calls himself something like… Alton – couldn't stop _boasting_ about how great they are." Yeah, well, right, but _what_ do they want? "He says he belonged to the Genii, but defected when John killed Kolya. For some reason, he actively sought out Michael and somehow became one of his men… or maybe some kind of subcontractor. Obviously, their job was to capture Teyla to get to Torren through her. But since he never got Teyla… he's using us as a bait for the others. I'm not sure what he plans to do with them once they're here, but… I don't think he'll invite them to discuss trading arrangements over tea."

She has to smile involuntarily, even with these terrible news. "And now tell me how I could think you're stupid." But she becomes serious very fast, because Jennifer's face hasn't lit up a bit. "What else?"

"Those… those traders? They… they were part of a set-up." She closes her eyes and nods. Yes, she's had her suspicions about that already, but somehow she'd still held up hope that they had nothing to do with this. "Michael forced them to do it, and Alton and his gang… they nearly wiped out the whole group as a punishment for letting Teyla and the Sergeant escape."

She's sure that by now Atlantis should have found out at least about the traders' part in this and really hopes that none of them – for some reason Evan and Ronon come to her mind as the prime suspects – do something rash and make the traders suffer even more. Yes, they betrayed them, but they are peaceful people… how were they supposed to fight against someone like _Michael_? "We'll make everything right, Jennifer. I promise."

She knows she'll probably not be able to hold true to that promise if she doesn't get out of here in the next hours, but she doesn't want Jennifer to lose faith just yet. For a while, though, the doctor doesn't say anything. Then: "I know. It's just that… that…"

With a groan, she struggles to sit up and puts her hand on Jen's shoulder. "Don't, Jen." Get her back on the medical track, and fast. "By the way… how long is this stuff you gave me gonna hold up?"

Jennifer closes her eyes again and swallows, obviously trying to ban all her thoughts on the traders' fate to the back of her mind. "Maybe one hour, maybe two… but not much more." Crap. That's…. not good. In fact, that's horrible. She has to think of something… and _fast_. And then, suddenly, it hits her.

"Uh… Jen… I have this weird thing at the back of my head here. Could you… just have a look?" Quizzically, Jennifer looks at her, and she beckons her to just comply with that request. After a few more painful seconds of failing to understand her, Jennifer finally shrugs and leans over, luckily just in the right angle that her ear is close enough to her mouth that she can hopefully whisper without having to worry about someone reading her lips.

"Alright, now listen, and listen _good_. When I'm done with what I'm about to tell you now, I'm gonna fake fainting, and you'll call out for the guards. Make sure to be really frantic and desperate. The moment they get into this cell and get close to me, I'm going to give them the beating of their lives and when I tell you to, you'll grab the nearest gun and leave this cell. You don't look back, you just run out and make straight for the local 'Gate. Take everyone out that you have to take out, and _don't_, under no circumstances, worry about me. _No_ discussion about this. Understood?" Jennifer hesitates, and she can sense that she's about to contradict her. "When I said "No discussion." I _meant_ no discussion. One of us needs to get out of here, and you're much more likely to make it than I am. And I can take care of myself." They both know that after a fight with these guards she probably won't be able to take care of anything, but this really isn't the place now to argue about it.

Then, suddenly, she hears Jennifer say with a shaky voice: "Huh, I don't see anything strange here, Laura… Laura?" Alright, her clue. In an instant she makes herself go limp in Jennifer's arms and closes her eyes. "Oh my God… Laura! Help! I need some _help_ down here! Alton! Anyone! Please help me!" She nearly has to hide a smirk at how good an actress Jennifer Keller can be when she manages to push fear and hesitation side. And yes, there the boot steps are already.

Jennifer is still appealing to them, sounding very pitiful and genuinely distressed, and she has the distinct feeling that part of that is the nervousness at what is probably going to follow now. Now she hears the sounds of the cell being opened and tries to assess how many people just entered the cell… and then rough hands are gripping her and her instinct takes over.

Instantly she opens her eyes again to stare right into the impassive face of one of the Hybrids. Before he can process what just happened, she has already managed to land a fist in his face. As he staggers back, another one moves to grab her, but she aims a kick at his mid-section from below and squarely gets him in the chin because he bent down. Pain shoots through her right leg again, but she's in fight mode now and manages to kick the gun out of the one targeting her. As if by a miracle, the stunner lands right in front of Jennifer, who stares at it paralyzed. Crap.

"_Go_, Jennifer!", she yells, and that is all it takes to kick Jennifer out of her daze. Immediately, she grabs the stunner and jumps up. Then, from the corner of her eye… "To your right, Jen!" And the another miracle happens and Jen is fast enough to pull the trigger before Alton could have done it. She doesn't directly hit him, but she manages to graze him and irritate him enough that she can use the momentary window to really escape the cell and make it to the corridor's door.

Shortly before finally going, the doctor turns around and the look in Jen's eyes makes her heart sink. No, Jen, she thinks, _don't_ look back now. "Fucking _go_!" The fourth Hybrid assaults her, and the only way of getting him away from her is giving him good kick with her left foot. The pain that now shoots through her foot and the sickening crack tell her that _now_ her ankle is _definitely_ broken and make her scream out in agony.

But that isn't nearly half as horrible as suddenly seeing Alton looming over her and saying grinning: "That, Lieutenant, was a terribly stupid mistake." The last thing she sees before falling unconscious is Alton raising his hand before he delivers the blow that sends her off into the black.

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry for the cliffhanger :S But at least some plot development in this :P ;)


	11. Ten

**Ten**

He wishes Sheppard wouldn't have sent him off with this off-world team of all teams. Because then he wouldn't feel as drained and ashamed as he is feeling now. But when your CO tells you to search an attacked traders' camp for any survivors, you simply don't tell him no. And now he's standing amid the smoldering remnants of what used to be a tent site, surrounded by dead humans and carelessly strewn out personal effects.

"Major?" He turns around at the very low voice and finds himself standing face to face with Teyla. Her usually dark-skinned face is ashen and her eyes are moist. That's all he needs as a confirmation as to who these people were.

"It's them, isn't it?" She just nods, and he isn't quite sure if she doesn't regret going head to head with Sheppard about accompanying them on this mission. But they need her here, no matter how much Sheppard had wanted to shield her from this. In the end it had been Kanaan to quietly point out that Teyla was the only one being able to recognize these people. Sheppard had countered with the fact that Sergeant Meyers had been there as well, but Woolsey had insisted that two pairs of eyes were better than one and so both Meyers and Teyla had accompanied them.

He takes a deep breath, and the smell of smoke and decay fills his nostrils. It's sickening, but he feels like he deserves this for all the dark thoughts he'd had on what he wanted to do about these people. "I'm sorry, Teyla."

She looks away, but he can still see the pain in her eyes. "As am I." Her gaze swerves over the destroyed camp site and he can see her clenching her fists. It tells him that underneath her grief there's already anger and the wish for making the ones responsible pay growing. When she turns back to him, there's a new determination in her eyes. She wants to say something, but before she can form a sentence, Meyers calls out to him.

"Exucse me, sir! You might want to see this." They look at each other and in silent understanding they walk over to Meyers who's crouching in one of the tents' remains being towered by Ronon. As the Sergeant sees them approaching he stands up again and holds up something that looks absolutely out of place. Something smallish and metallic… almost like a flash drive.

He wants to ask Meyers if he has any idea what that could be, but Rodney is faster and unceremoniously grabs the thing from the Sergeant's hands. At that Meyers looks very much like he wants to give McKay an earful, but refrains from it with the poker-face he perfected through countless encounters with overzealous officers.

Rodney on the other hand can't wait to get this thing connected to his data tablet. He shortly thinks about pointing out to the doc that this thing could very well be something triggering an explosive, but one look at the almost feverish eagerness in Rodney's face tells him that it would be useless anyway. Then, finally, Rodney gets the thing working. After a few tabs on the tablet, he grins his usual smug grin and shows them the tablet. But as he tabs the Play-button for the video obviously stored on the device, it quickly vanishes.

The face that appears is male and human and the collar that is visible looks very much like that of a Genii uniform. The background is some non-descript blank concrete wall, so it doesn't tell them much. But it's irrelevant anyway, since that face in front of them lights up in a smirk. "Ah, I see you found my little present. My congratulations. And now because I know that you had to go to a considerable amount of trouble to get to this, I won't hold you off with more talking." Get to the fucking _point_, he wants to scream at the smug face, but he can get a grip on himself fast enough.

"As you have probably already guessed, I'm the host of two of your expedition members, a Dr. Jennifer Keller and a Lieutenant Laura Cadman. I do hope both their suitors are watching now, because I have some very interesting footage for them to see." Good _God_. From the corner of his eyes, he can see Teyla shaking her head incredulously and isn't quite sure if he heard her murmur "Hamrash… what did he do to you?" He makes a mental note to ask her if his assumption that this guy knows about this from torturing the traders was correct.

There's a cut and then the screen is parted in two, showing them two cells with one inhabitant each. One of them is pacing to and fro impatiently and he can hear two sharp intakes of breath as Ronon and Rodney both recognize that person as Jennifer Keller. The other one... is Laura. Involuntarily, his grip around his P90 tightens and he has to swallow down the sigh of relief. She's sitting, leaning against a wall, looking distressed and with her face bruised badly, but at least alive and conscious.

"As you can see, both of them are alive and relatively unharmed. However… I'm afraid they may not stay like this forever. To avoid harming them any further, I have a proposal to make. I have orders from the one you call Michael to exchange these two for the Athosian Teyla Emmagan and her child. I will make this _very_ easy for you, Atlanteans. On this storage device you will find the coordinates of the planet where your missing women are waiting for you. You only have to exchange them for the two Emmagans and then you'll have them back. As for the question in which condition… that solely depends on how fast you are." With that the screens reverts back to black.

For a moment, neither of them says anything. Then Meyers says matter-of-factly: "It's a trap."

Immediately, Rodney whips around to the Sergeant and snaps: "Of _course_ it's a trap, Captain Obvious."

He wants to intervene and tell Rodney off for getting in the face of one of his Marines like that, but the Sergeant simply smirks and replies: "Actually, it's _Sergeant_ Obvious… Mister Clueless." Whoa, way to go, Sergeant, he thinks and doesn't know whether to clap the Sergeant on the back for that perfectly straight-faced answer or give him a good wigging for disrespecting such a high-ranking civilian.

He is, however, kept from saying something, when Ronon speaks up: "Save that for later. We need to get back to Atlantis."

It's his turn now, because he's officially in charge of this mission, so he nods and says: "Agreed." Then he takes a deep breath and says loud enough for all the other team members still searching through the camp site to hear his order: "Come on, everyone, pack it up and head back to the 'Gate."

Immediately, the medics and combat engineers that belong to the team heed his orders and in only a few minutes, the team is complete and ready to go. Without further delay, they set off for the 'Gate again, but when they reach the top of the hill that stands between the 'Gate and the destroyed traders' settlement, Teyla stops and lets everyone pass. He notices and joins her as she stands and looks down on the destruction. He gives her a few moments of peace and then says: "They'll get a proper burial. I promise."

Teyla doesn't react for a second or two, but then she finally nods and replies, still looking down on the tents: "You do not have to feel ashamed, Major." She turns to him, finding him frowning in puzzlement and adds: "Do not think I have not guessed which thoughts you have been harboring ever since we found out that Hamrash and his people had a part in Laura's and Jennifer's abduction. And yet you have never once let them direct your actions or cloud your judgment. That is something not many people are capable of, given the circumstances. This is no one's fault but that of Michael and his followers. You have nothing to feel guilty about."

But he does. And the least he can do for these people, who were as much victims as are Keller and Laura, is making absolutely sure that Atlantis takes care of letting them rest in peace. So he just nods and says: "Neither do you. Now, come on, we need to kick some Hybrids' asses." At least that's what _he_ desperately needs. He still wants… _needs_ to make someone pay, for all the things they did to Laura and Keller and those poor traders down in the valley.

"Yes, we do. And do not worry, Major. We will find them before they can do to Laura and Jennifer what they did here." Now there's the grim determination in Teyla's voice that he already saw in her eyes before. It tells him very clearly that she has a few ideas herself what to do when they finally get to these guys.

He nods and they turn around to follow the others. As they are quickly walking down the hill, he adds: "No doubt about that. And Teyla… Evan's fine, by the way."

She gives him a half-smile and simply says: "Very well… Evan." And then they both break into a run, propelled by the feeling of _finally_ having made a real step forward in this whole case.

* * *

**A/N:** You know... this is one of the chapters of this story that I absolutely loved writing and still love to read, for some reason. I really hope you like it at least half as much as I do :)


	12. Eleven

**Eleven**

When she wakes up this time, there's no Jennifer Keller getting on her nerves with pacing. Instead, there's even more pain than last time, also shivering, dizziness, nausea and headaches. For a while she keeps absolutely still, trying to shut out all the distractions and concentrating solely on breathing. But then it slowly gets through to her that she can't stay like this for all eternity, because as long as she's alive and at least basically conscious, it's her duty to fight her way out of this.

So after a few more moments of merciless self-cajoling, she finally manages to crack her eyes open and haul herself up as far as possible. Which is when she realizes that they have seriously maimed her right wrist… and Alton who is standing in front of her cell, grinning at her. "My apologies, Lieutenant. It seems I have seriously underestimated your resilience. You're a truly amazing woman. As was your companion Dr. Keller."

Even through the haze of pain and fever she immediately catches the operative word. _Was_. That either means that Jennifer escaped or that she… "That's quite right, Laura. I may call you Laura, right?" You may go to hell, she wants to spit back, but even taking a breath to say these few words is taking up too much of an effort. "Anyway… yes, I have the sad duty to inform you that sweet little Jennifer Keller never made it out of this facility." Her first impulse is a sickening feeling of guilt and regret and grief, but then she realizes that this could very well be a trick of him to break her resolve, make her give up.

And the lines from the Soldier's Creed that brought her through boot camp and OCS come to her mind again, even though they are basically an Army thing.

I will always place the mission first.

I will never accept defeat.

I will never quit.

I will never leave a fallen comrade.

And out of these, there's one that runs through her head now over and over again. I will never accept defeat. I will _never_ accept defeat. I – will – never – accept – defeat.

And then there's also a line from her own Corps' ethos. _I must shoot straighter than any enemy who is trying to kill me._ Together these lines give her the strength to believe that Jennifer is still alive, no matter what this guy is telling her. They also give her the strength to ignore the nagging suspicion that her conviction of Jennifer still being alive is just the fever messing around with her head and clouding her judgment.

"Ah, I can see that you don't believe me. But rest assured, I _am_ right. As for you… I have something very special for _you_ in my mind. You'll be my means to an end to get me back into my master's highest esteem. See this?" He gestures towards a lump with a blinking _something_ inside the lock of her cell's door. "That, my dear, is a neat little bomb that will go off the moment they open this door. No one will see it, and with any luck, you'll be much too weak to tell anyone about it. Imagine it… your fellow Atlanteans – and I daresay there will be some very _important_ Atlanteans among them – all in this room, relieved to have found you, maybe even alive… and then, when they already think that everything is over… a _beautiful_ explosion. Doesn't _that_ sound nice?"

Go to hell, she wants to scream at him, but she needs all the strength she has left to keep her eyes open and concentrate on just two thoughts in her mind: The absolute confidence that she did _not_ screw up and send Jennifer to her death and the memory of lying beside Evan, just being barely awake, because this always is the moment where she feels safest of all. She needs to remember this feeling of safety now to keep her going, remind her of the fact that nothing can hurt her as long as Evan is still out there, looking for her, fighting for her.

"Well, seeing that you aren't really in the mood for talking – which I do understand, honestly – I will leave you to your last few hours alive. As I've been told, you do have someone to spend them thinking on, so I won't trouble you any longer. I will also refrain from telling you good-bye under the circumstances, because that would be really impolite of me. So… farewell, Lieutenant Cadman. Give my kindest regards to Teyla Emmagan, John Sheppard, Ronon Dex and Rodney McKay, if you are still capable of that by the time they arrive here." Then he simply leaves the room, his sick amused laugh still echoing through her mind minutes after he is already gone.

She gives herself a few minutes to process what just happened and gather up some energy to deal with the situation. Then, when she feels just barely strong enough, she uncurls from her current position and drags herself over to the door. It seems to her like it takes her an eternity, but eventually she arrives at the door.

When she does, she needs another few minutes to get back her breath. While waiting for her erratic pulse to calm down at least a bit, she already takes a look at the construction on the lock. It's a bomb, Cadman, she reminds herself forcefully, that's what you're best at. Playing around with C4 like others play around with play dough. You can do this. If there's _anyone_ being able to disable a simple little bomb even with her temperature skyrocketing, it's you.

She forces herself to solely concentrate on the thing at the lock, at the cables connecting lock and IED. She forces herself to forget about the pain and the nausea and the dizziness and engage that kind of tunnel vision she always gets when fiddling around with live ordnance. This isn't the first bomb she has to disable under less than ideal circumstances and she refuses to believe it to be her _last_.

But when she wants to touch the cables to get a better look at them, she notices her fingers shaking so violently that she wouldn't be even able to hold a pen, let alone safely fiddle around with highly explosive stuff. She tries so very hard to stop the shaking of her left hand – her right is out of commission anyway – but it simply won't obey her. There is no way in hell she'll be able to touch these cables without making this thing explode right into her face.

With an anguished sob, she leans back against the rails. This just isn't fair, she thinks. Betrayed by her own body. Nothing could bring her to her knees – not the news that Jennifer allegedly never made it through the 'Gate, not Alton's taunting about her significant other, not the pain and fever raging through her body. No, a simple tremor that just won't stop is all it needs to break the camel's back. Of all the things that she could have failed at, it had to be disabling a fucking bomb. Another dry sob escapes her.

Get your fucking act together, Marine, a voice that sounds suspiciously like her first drill instructor suddenly bellows at her. Assess your options. Rethink your plan. Get into action. She takes a deep, shuddering breath. Right. Of course. If _she_ can't disable this fucking bomb, surely someone on the team Sheppard will send, will be able to do it. All _she_ has to do now is staying awake until they reach her to tell them about the danger.

Somehow that sounds infinitely easier than her first plan and so she makes the firm resolve to stick to that. Simply staying awake. She can do that. And so she settles down for maybe the longest hours she'll ever have to endure, her body staying awake, but her mind retreating into a place far warmer, brighter and much more pleasant than this after only a few moments.

* * *

**A/N: **That is, by far, my most favorite chapter. Sounds strange, I know, but for some reason, I really like it. I could go on and on about _why_ I like it so much, but I guess it's better just to hear what _you_ think about it ;)


	13. Twelve

**Twelve**

The look on Sheppard's and Woolsey's faces mirrors the sentiments he had when seeing that wretched video for the first time, and it scares him a little that he feels the exact same thing again when he sees the footage of Laura in her cell another time. And now there's also this desperate feeling of urgency that just won't leave him. Like he needs to get through the 'Gate this very minute. _Something_ tells him Laura needs him now more than ever, and he's just itching to get into action.

"Colonel? What do you say?" He blinks as Woolsey addresses Sheppard.

Sheppard frowns at the coordinates on the screen. "It's a trap."

"Wow, Atlantis is full of geniuses today.", Rodney barges in and rolls his eyes, but a dark look from Ronon shuts him up.

"But we still need to go." And if it was up to him, they'd be already through the 'Gate… but Richard Woolsey furrows his forehead.

"Colonel… I do understand that you see a certain urgency, but like you said… it could be a trap. And I don't intend losing any more personnel. Before you mount a rescue mission we need to assess this situation thoroughly." _Crap_. Woolsey's been long enough in this galaxy. Every second counts now, there's just no _time_ for some proper "assessing". And the look on Sheppard's face says the exact same thing.

"The situation _is_ assessed pretty thoroughly. We have two members down, the coordinates to get where they are, enough firepower and technological advantage to defend ourselves. If we don't get going _now_ we might lose them both." In a corner of his mind he actually feels sympathy for Richard Woolsey. There he is, having been a bureaucrat for God knows how long, and now he has to face down three military men, all determined not to leave fallen comrades behind and a scientist who could single-handedly convince this city to make Woolsey's life a living hell and never be even caught doing it.

That sympathy for Richard Woolsey could be gone very quickly, though, if he doesn't see the logic in Sheppard's thoughts. Woolsey throws another look around and simply runs into wall of determination. Not bothering to put on his diplomatic poker face, you can see the exact moment where he realizes that he won't get far with trying to "carefully plan" something. "Alright. You have a go. But you will not take any unnecessary risks. And you will inform me of every step."

There's a collective underlying sigh of relief and Sheppard nods. "Yes, sir." With that, they leave Woolsey's office and Sheppard says: "Alright… Ronon and Rodney to the jumper bay. Major, you'll stay here and…" No way. Laura is in danger, and he'll be damned if he stays behind. Sheppard's tried enough to shield him off and he understands that, but he's had it now. All these times Laura rescued him, and the one time where he can repay her he stays behind? Not bloody likely.

No, this time it's going to be a good old White-Knight-Rescues-Princess-Thing, just for once. Well, if Sheppard lets him, that is. "Beg pardon, sir, but… I'm requesting permission to be part of the rescue team."

Sheppard takes a deep breath and then motions for McKay and Ronon to head for the jumper bay. Before McKay can even open his mouth to protest, Ronon has grabbed him by his arm and dragged him off a few steps in the direction of the lift. Sheppard maneuvers him into a corner where the rest of the Control Room crew can't hear them. "Major… Evan, if this is about getting your girlfriend back…"

He takes a deep breath himself. He can't remember _ever_ having questioned an order by Sheppard before, but well… there's a first time for everything, and Laura is the best reason he can imagine to go head to head with his CO. "With all due respect, _sir_, this is _not_ about "getting my girlfriend back". It's about rescuing two very valuable members of this expedition. And my team and I are the ones best qualified to assist your team on that mission. So you can either stand there and accuse me of losing my head over my girlfriend or you can just do what you always do and order your second-in-command to help you save Jennifer Keller's and Laura Cadman's asses."

Before his CO can say anything, he suddenly hears a familiar deep voice behind him. "Major's got a point, Sheppard." He turns around to see Ronon leaning against the wall with his arms crossed in front of his chest and wonders how long exactly he's been standing there.

But what's more surprising is that Rodney McKay is standing beside him and adding: "Although I'll probably regret saying this: I second Ronon and Major Romeo there."

Outgunned, Sheppard frowns at them and replies: "Hey, didn't I just send you two down to the jumper bay?"

Ronon shrugs and waves his hand to include McKay. "Just thought we might be second in line anyway."

He can see pretty well that for a moment Sheppard considers putting all three of them in the brig, just to get this over with, but in the end he simply sighs and says: "Alright. Fine. You got five minutes to get your team to the jumper bay, Major."

Barely being able to suppress a smirk, he simply nods and answers: "Yes, sir. And might I suggest informing Teyla as well?" That's bold, and he knows it, but Teyla would never forgive them if they do this without her. And Sheppard knows that as well as he does.

Grudgingly, the Colonel nods. "Right. I'll pick her up on the way to the jumper bay. See you there." With that, Sheppard makes his way to the lift.

He taps his headset and informs Lieutenant Simmons and Sergeant McPherson, the two new guys who were recently assigned to him, after his last men's tour ended, to get geared up and meet Colonel Sheppard's team in the jumper bay. While making his own way to the jumper bay, he tries going through the list of spare personnel in his head to fill up the remaining place, but is interrupted, when he hears someone calling out for him. He turns around to see Will Meyers running up to him. When he's reached him, the Sergeant doesn't lose time. "Heard you're going to kick some Hybrids' butts." Uh-oh, he's pretty sure he already knows where this is going. "Requesting permission to tag along, sir."

Yep, that's what he thought. But Meyers has been on the last three search missions, not to mention the one with the killed traders, and he must be pretty tired by now. "Look, Sergeant…"

And then Meyers does something he'd never have given him credit to. He interrupts him. "Sir, with all due respect… you just butted heads with Colonel Sheppard about letting you go with him." Yes, he did. But there's still a difference between risking his own life and that of a subordinate. He's about to tell that to the Sergeant, but he simply doesn't give him an opportunity to speak up. "And your team is one man short, 'cause Albright is still on urgency leave on Earth. _I_'ve got advanced medical training, I'm a trained sharp-shooter and thanks to the Lieutenant I know my way around explosives… to me that makes me the ideal substitute for Albright. Sir."

Unfortunately… Meyers is right. They already know that Laura is injured and as of now they have no idea how Keller is. They definitely need a medic, but this is not the kind of mission where you can take one of the civilian medics from the infirmary with you, and Oberstabsarzt Morsberg, Moore's German Army doctor, is currently away on leave. _And_ he simply has no time to go through the list of other available soldiers with advanced medical training. Defeated, he nods. "Alright. Accompany me to the jumper bay, Sergeant."

Is that a smug grin the Sergeant took care to hide? "Thanks, sir."

"Just don't get killed.", he huffs as an answer, but Meyers simply grins.

"'Cause you want to kill me for interrupting you when we get back, sir?" Time to wipe that smirk off this Sergeant's face or this will go to his head.

"I certainly will, if you don't shut up about this killing business." Meyers takes great care to revert his face back to matter-of-factly, but somehow… there's still some glee staying behind. And he finally realizes that denying Meyers to come along would have been a lot worse than allowing him to, because the Sergeant sees this as his way to make up for having to let the abductors get away with Laura and Keller. He only hopes that he didn't just sign another death warrant with giving in to Meyers' request.

"Understood, sir." He just nods.

"I certainly hope so. Now, come on, get going." With that, they both break into a run.

When they reach the jumper bay, McKay and Sheppard are already done with the pre-flight and Simmons and McPherson acknowledge his arrival with shortly tipping their heads in informal salutes. He motions for them to get into the jumper and when they are all set, Sheppard takes the ship off. Finally, he thinks, and the last three days feel like an eternity to him.

* * *

**A/N: **Ye-es, I'm taking my time, I know. But I'll get there, I promise ;)

PS.: Oberstabsarzt is indeed a German Army/Air Force Medical Corps rank and can be seen equal as that of a Major in US Army/USAF/USMC terms, just in case someone was wondering.


	14. Thirteen

**Thirteen**

Well… doesn't look much different from all the other planets they have been to. Beneath them, trees and other vegetation rush past as McKay navigates them to the coordinates Michael's Genii has given them. He can just barely withstand the need to check and double-check his weapon, because he knows that the thing doesn't need any checking and it's just a nervous habit. And the last thing he wants to show to _anyone_ in here is nervousness.

Then, finally, Sheppard lands the jumper facing a structure that looks like an abandoned industrial complex, like the ones the Genii usually prefer as hideouts. Immediately, everyone gets ready and exits the jumper. When they are all set, Sheppard gives out the mission objectives. "We'll break into two teams. Teyla, Ronon, Meyers, you're with me. Major, you get McKay, Simmons and McPherson." Oh great. Why the hell does he _always_ get McKay? "We'll enter the building together, then break up. Fire at will, but don't kill on sight. If Cadman and Keller are really here, there's a good chance we can get to them by using one of the guards. No regular check backs, but radio as soon as you encounter something unusual. Watch out for everything only remotely resembling booby traps. Let's go."

They advance the building and yes, one of the doors gives way. It leads into a vast hall with gangways crossing all over it in various heights. Sheppard signals for them to turn right and takes his own team to the left. Quietly, they make their way to the next door that leads them into a corridor. For the first few doors, they don't encounter any resistance, and that's starting to make him edgy. McKay, who has their life signs detector told him shortly after entering the second door that he could make out several life signs, but all of them stationary. So obviously they haven't been detected yet, but that could already be part of the trap.

Plus it makes it nearly impossible to find out which of these are Laura and Keller. So his decision had been to get to the nearest life sign to see who it is. They are only two corners away from it now, and he feels his adrenalin levels start to climb. Simmons, who is up front, gives them the all-clear for this corner, and they follow. Right in front of him, McKay is moving with his Beretta in one and the life signs detector in the other hand, and he has to admit that the Doc came a long way from a clumsy scientist to being able to keep up with three elite soldiers.

Shortly before they can round the last corner, McKay suddenly stops them and shows them the life signs detector. There's movement on it now, with five life signs clustering in front of another one and moving quite nervously… what the hell? And then the sound of bullet shots rings through the building. Immediately, he signals his team to change direction and they run to where the shots are coming from.

When they arrive, they encounter five Hybrids pummeling a steel door to death with Genii weapons. Without any delay, all of them, McKay included, open fire on the Hybrids. Four of them turn around to return it, but the fifth keeps hammering the door. So who- or whatever is inside there seems to be mighty important.

Their combined firepower takes out the Hybrids pretty fast, but they can't keep them from maiming the door enough to get it open and get a few shots inside. But, as if by miracle, suddenly there are stunner shots coming from inside the room and take out one of the remaining two Hybrids. A pretty well aimed shot from McKay takes out the last one.

Cautiously, he signals Simmons and McPherson to secure one direction of the corridor and McKay to get behind him. With his P90 raised, he kicks the door open again. And nearly gets hit by a stunner shot… from Dr. Jennifer Keller. Huh?

For a moment, it's silent, because obviously, all of them still have to process what just happened. Then McKay is the first one to break the silence. "_Jennifer_?"

That seems to shake Keller from her paralysis and she jumps up, exclaiming: "Oh thank God, _Rodney_."

McKay on the other hand, rudely gets past him to engulf Keller in a hug. Well, well... McKay's lucky that Ronon isn't here, he thinks and takes a look around. The room seems to be full of technological equipment, but what gets his interest in an instant is a fairly big screen showing the interior of a cell… and a figure slumped against its bars. _Laura_!

He turns back to McKay who's making a fuss about the lacerations on Keller's face. Reminding himself that he's on a mission, he tamps down the impulse to simply grab McKay's arm and drag him over to the computer to make him find out where exactly they're holding Laura and clears his throat to utter a polite: "Hey, uh, not to be rude or anything, but… could you two please save the tearful reunion for later? We still have a Lieutenant to rescue."

McKay whips around and snaps: "Hey, cut it out, Romeo. You're not the only one around here who missed someone."

Okay, he's had it. Any respect he grudgingly paid McKay is gone now, because this kind of egoism is really misplaced at the moment. "Don't you get off on me like that. And could you please just _stop_ calling me "Romeo", _Dr. McCoy_?" There. He's always wanted to do that, and it feels incredibly good, because for a moment McKay is looking seriously _pissed_.

Then he gets back his usual arrogance and smirks. "What, you rather want me to call you "Major Shortie"?"

What, that's all he gets as a comeback? A joke about his 5' 9"? He snorts. "Knock yourself out. After all, it's not the size that matters. It's what you can do with it."

"Oh God, I so didn't need to hear this."

And that is his problem exactly _how_? He shrugs his shoulders. "Tough luck."

Before McKay can snap something back, Jennifer Keller steps between the two and the look on her face tells them both very clearly what she thinks about their little bout of getting at each others' throats. "Guys, stop it! On that screen there's a severely wounded soldier, and so help me God if you continue to delay finding my patient…"

He swallows, feeling awfully like having been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Thankfully enough, Simmons and McPherson are still guarding the corridor and didn't get to see how easy their CO can be distracted when being under too much emotional stress. "Alright. Sorry, Doc." Then he nods to McKay. "I'll radio Colonel Sheppard and tell him what we found. You think you can pull Lieutenant Cadman's position from this?"

McKay has a short scrutinizing look at the equipment in the room and the screen and then nods. "Sure. This will be a cake walk, compared to the usual demanding-the-impossible-from-me."

Before he radios Sheppard, he gets outside to tell Simmons and McPherson to guard the door and alarm them of everything suspicious. Then he hails Sheppard and the Colonel reacts immediately. "What is it, Major?"

"We found Dr. Keller alive and relatively unharmed in what appears to be a surveillance room, sir. One of the screen shows what appears to be live footage from Lieutenant Cadman's cell. McKay's already trying to…"

"John, I have her. From what I can see, she's underground, directly below you. Three guards at her door, another two at each of the two trap doors further ahead of you.", McKay interrupts him, and just for once he's glad someone did. In fact, the relief at those few words and the fact that she's still alive make him nearly dizzy enough to faint. It feels like he's been holding his breath for an eternity and now that the air is rushing back into his lungs it's almost too much for him.

"Understood. We've already found a trap door leading down and taken out the assigned guards. Any information on Cadman's condition?" Rodney taps a few key on his data tablet and then shakes his head. But before either of them can say anything, Keller grabs McKay's radio.

"John, it's me, Jennifer. I've treated her an hour and a half ago. I gave her painkillers, stims and antibiotics, because she was suffering from a fever most probably caused by two inflamed bullet grazes on her right thigh. She… When she helped me to get out, she… took quite a beating. When I got here, that Genii was talking to her… I think they planted a bomb on the lock of her cell. It looked like she tried to disable it, but didn't get very far." Oh God. Oh _God_. At the moment he has a hard time deciding which of all the things he just heard is the worst. When he heard "fever" he was already ready to run down to her cell, when Keller mentioned the word "beating" he'd wanted nothing more than to take Laura in his arms and try to make all her pain go away by simple force of will and when there had suddenly been talk of a bomb he'd nearly let out a frustrated shout. So close… _so_ close.

"Got it, Doc. Major?" He blinks. Buck up, idiot, he thinks. This is a rescue mission, not different from the countless other rescue missions you've been on before.

"Yes, sir?"

"Get your team down here. Is anyone of your team members familiar with disarming IEDs?" As far as he knows… no. Simmons is a computer wiz and McPherson's specialty is urban warfare. And Albright… no, wait, _Meyers_ is his third team member.

"Yes, sir. Lieutenant Cadman has given regular in-depth cross-training lessons to Sergeant Meyers for the last three months." Who would have thought. The very reason why he pulled this stupid fight that made his life hell for the last few days will now probably save all their lives. He hopes so very much for Laura to survive this because he wants to see her smug face and hear her say "Marine instructors are simply the _best_."

"Great. See you down here. Sheppard out." He looks back at McKay and Keller.

"Alright, you heard the Colonel. We're moving again." He steps out of the room and nods toward his men. "Simmons, you take point again. McPherson, you and Dr. McKay take care of Dr. Keller. I'll bring up the rear." With that, their group gets moving again.

While they're cautiously making their way towards Laura's cell with sidestepping three booby traps on the way, Jennifer Keller quietly tells them how she got to the surveillance room. Seems that Laura had taken a chance at distracting their captors with starting a fight in the cell and making it possible for Keller to escape, telling her to get to the 'Gate. It makes him both infinitely proud of Laura and infinitely mad at her. Proud for the enormous amount of strength, sense of duty and courage she displayed with this and mad for sacrificing herself and playing hero. Damn stupid stubborn Marines, he thinks, always thinking they are invincible.

As they sidestep another booby trap, McKay quietly asks Keller why the hell she didn't just do what Laura told her. Keller answers with: "I… simply couldn't leave her. She's injured, and I can't leave a patient." It's all she says, and it makes him see her in a whole new light. Only now he realizes that Laura was right every time she told him that there's more to Keller than people like to admit. That doctor may whine and grumble about having to wear a sidearm or having to walk distances over two miles and she may still face danger with big eyes and trembling lips, but try to stop her from doing her job and she becomes a lioness. When this is over, he promises himself, he'll take Keller aside and thank her for not leaving Laura behind.

* * *

**A/N: **Good morning, everyone! :D I really hope that gets this mail problem under control and that it informs everyone of you with alerts fast enough.


	15. Fourteen

**Fourteen**

After that, they silently advance to Laura's position, taking out three more groups of Hybrids and not a Genii in sight, and after what seems like an eternity to him, they _finally_ reach the trap door Keller told them leads to the cells. When they arrive, Sheppard and his team minus Meyers are standing a few feet away from it. Of course. As far away from the explosion as possible, but still near enough to get inside as fast as possible when Meyers is done.

When the team sees them, he could swear to see Ronon wipe his hand over his face to hide the quick look of relief that just crossed his face. It makes him thank God again that _he_ is not part of something this complicated. Most of the time his own "thing" is complicated enough for him.

He walks over to Sheppard. "Sir?"

Sheppard knows exactly what he wants to know, and the look on his CO's face does not bode well. "Dr. Keller was right. There _is_ a bomb on the door. The Sergeant has been on it for the last ten minutes." Sheppard takes a deep breath. "We need Cadman, but she's… not exactly in the shape to help."

He doesn't want to, but he knows he just has to ask. "How bad is it?"

"She's half-conscious, but… it's not pretty, Major. Lots of bruises in her face, wound on her thigh… she was cradling her right hand like something was the matter with it, but… she wouldn't let anyone near her." Alright… at least she's still alive and even responsive. That's all he's asked for. He takes a deep breath and nods.

In this moment, Meyers' voice sounds through Sheppard's radio. "Sir… hate to say it, but this job is too big for me. Might look easy, but he's built in a few fail saves I can't see from my position. I need Lieutenant Cadman, but she's a little… uncooperative."

Uncooperative? He looks at Sheppard with his eyebrow raised. Sheppard takes a moment to think, then he has obviously reached a decision. "I'll send someone down, Sergeant."

Then Sheppard nods at him. "I have this feeling that there's something I should better leave to you. Go, Major." Without another word, he heeds the order and climbs down the ladder. When he arrives at the cell, Meyers doesn't look a bit surprised. Yeah, well, who else would Sheppard send down, huh?

"What's happening, Sergeant?", he asks and Meyers crouches down again, worry and helplessness on his face.

"See for yourself, sir." With that, he reaches out to touch Laura's shoulder through the bars, but immediately she shakes him off.

"Don't touch me.", she says and her voice is raspy, but there's a surprising amount of steel behind it. He looks at Meyers, and the Sergeant seems to have the exact same thoughts in his head.

"Cave fiasco flashback?" Meyers nods.

"'Fraid so, sir." With a sigh, he hands Meyers his P90 and his Beretta. Laura might be half-delirious and behind bars, but she's still a highly trained soldier, and she has exceptional reflexes. Better not take any chances now.

"I'll take care of it." With that, he crouches down where Laura is sitting with her back to the bars. Very tentatively, he reaches out to her.

"Laura…" As predicted, she shakes him off, quite violently.

"Go away. _Don't_ touch me." Alright. That was to be expected.

"It's just me, Laura. Stop fighting. It's over. They can't harm you anymore." Hopefully, the sound of his voice is enough to make her realize she doesn't have to fight anymore.

"I said _go away_." Mh. Obviously not. Very cautiously, he reaches out to lightly touch her shoulder again.

"Laura…"

"GO AWAY!" Immediately, she half turns around and swats at him with her left hand quite forceful, considering her current state.

Fine. This calls for the big guns. "Okay, that's it. _Lieutenant, this is an order. You stop fighting me right now!_" He didn't want to do this, like he hadn't wanted to pull rank and order her to let Carson touch her back in that cave, but just like then it's the only option left to get through her thick skull.

For a moment, it's very silent, but then she says very quietly and a little disbelieving: "…Evan?"

He breathes a sigh of relief and inches a little closer to her, already aching to take her into his arms. "God, yes. Everything's okay now, Laura."

"About time, farm boy.", she replies with that raspy voice and even manages to bring a disapproving undertone.

And for some reason, that's finally his undoing. Without any regard to the Sergeant watching them, he leans his forehead against the bars, as close as he can get to her. His hand reaches out through the bars and, as not to hurt her even more by accidentally hitting one of her bruises, very carefully cups her cheek. His own voice is husky, when he speaks up again. "I know. I'm sorry, Buttercup. For everything."

For a moment, she closes her eyes, and he really hopes she understood what he just said. But as she opens her eyes again, she's back to business. "You shouldn't be here."

He gives her a half-smile. "I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be. And now show that Sergeant over there who's top dog in the C4-business."

But instead of the expected grin or the snort, he only gets something that sounds suspiciously like half a sob. "Not with this." She holds up her left hand and he can see what she means. It's trembling violently, and the way she just said it tells him that she has already tried her magic on the bomb. In her current state of mind, her failure must weigh her down pretty heavily.

Before he can answer something, Meyers carefully clears his throat. "Beg pardon, ma'am, but… what about I lend you my hands and everything you taught me and you do the rest?"

He knows he could just order her to go with the suggestion, because they're on the clock, but he also knows she'd never forgive him if he pulled rank on her now. And anyway, she's smart enough to go with that without orders. Right? But for being smart enough… she sure takes her time. "Only if the Major leaves the room."

No. No fucking way. He will _not_ leave them alone here. Not after everything. He will not leave the woman he loves alone to die here. And he will not leave a man who's married and who's a damn good soldier as well and who's here because _he_ allowed him to come with them. "Out of question. Get going."

"Evan…"

"Sir…"

"_No_." And that's his final word. He knows it's probably stupid, and both Laura and Meyers are right. But he has this feeling that Laura isn't her usual confident self and might need some back-up, even if she'd never admit it. And the terrible thought of being up there, leaving her alone, when she might…

"With all due respect, sir… if something happens…" He takes a deep breath and looks at Meyers, digging out the look that his sister likes to call – without a hint of sarcasm – "The Lorne Look Of Steel" and that actually shuts the Sergeant up.

"Something _will_ happen if the Lieutenant and you don't get to work _now_. And it will not be nice. Did I make myself clear?" The Sergeant swallows.

"Crystal, sir." With that, Meyers turns towards the bomb at the lock and hands him the flash light. He's about to make a not really nice comment about certainly not being Major Limelight, but then he realizes that from this point on Laura and Meyers are running the show, and he's just here for the moral support and the unskilled labor.

The Sergeant picks up his knife again and with a shuddering and raspy voice, Laura starts telling him about the wires she can see from the inside. It occurs to him that he's never seen her doing this before. He's seen her placing charges, blowing up whole buildings, figure out detonating mechanisms, testing chemical modifications… all the stuff that goes with her sometimes rather explosive personality. But he never actually saw her do this part of her job, where a steady hand and absolute concentration are the most important things.

Over time the intervals Laura needs to collect herself and think the next steps over are growing longer and longer, and then she simply says: "I can't. I'm sorry, but… I can't… I just…" She leans her head against the bars, breathing heavily and he can see that she won't make it much longer. It hurts seeing her this way, because this is as closest to giving up he has ever seen her. And giving up and Laura… that usually doesn't go together in one sentence.

He puts his hand on her shoulder and squeezes it very lightly. Very low, so that it's really just Laura who hears him, he says: "I know you're hurting and I know you're sick and I know you think you can't pull this off, but you _can_. You _have_ to."

She shakes her head. "It's all so messed up, and I can't even think straight."

This just isn't the woman he knows. But usually, the woman he knows isn't full of drugs, hasn't a fever raging through her body and isn't wounded. So maybe… she just needs someone helping her get through that fog in her head. He takes her hand and squeezes it. "Laura, listen: You're a fucking Marine, which means you think you're fucking invincible. Now show me that you live up to those highflying claims."

He's said it loud enough for Meyers to hear on purpose, and the Sergeant gets his clue. Smirking, he says: "I don't know about you, ma'am, but _I_ have the feeling that the Major doesn't pay the necessary respect to the Corps and its officers. I think he deserves someone proving him wrong." Yeah, you can always depend on the Marines' loyalty to their Corps. Doesn't change the fact, though, that the Sergeant is treating a dangerously fine line here.

"Watch it, Sergeant.", he growls, and for some reason that seems to be the final incentive to mobilize Laura's last resources.

"It's the green wire." Meyers picks up his knife, places it under the wire… and hesitates.

"You sure, ma'am?" She shakes her head.

"No. But someone had to make a decision." Her voice is now nearly inaudible. It feels like she's slipping away further every minute, and out of reflex he grips her hand tighter. She returns his pressure only very, very lightly, but at least she _does_ return it.

Meyers looks at him, questioningly. "Sir?" Hey, when did he turn into the explosives expert?

Okay. Yes. He _is_ the senior officer here, and it's his job to make that one last final call whether to trust Laura's judgment or hand the responsibility over to Meyers. After a moment of consideration he accepts that both of them will probably hate him for what he has to say now, but he does it anyway: "It's your decision, Sergeant."

Meyers gives him a look that says something like "Yeah, right, put the weight of the world on the NCO's shoulders, why don't you.", but turns back to the IED. He raises the knife again… and puts it against the blue wire. Oh. In the moment, Meyers finally severs the wire, he forces himself to keep his eyes open and turn to Laura, because if he has to go…

And then it's over. The wire is cut, the detonator stops blinking and the Sergeant saved the day. Just like that. He is so relieved that he actually allows himself sagging against the bars, back to back with Laura. After a few seconds of processing that the only thing standing between death and surviving this was just a trace of doubt and probably a gut feeling on the Sergeant's side, he says: "Good work, Sergeant."

While removing the C4 from the door, Meyers grins, probably to cover up his own relief and excitement: "You owe me a beer now, sir." He owes him his _life_, and Laura's, but he has this feeling that Meyers is the kind of guy who doesn't like to make about a fuss about things like this.

So he simply replies: "Agreed, Sergeant."

After the C4 is gone, Meyers uses his knife to pick the lock. When he's done, he simply steps aside and pushes the door open. The Sergeant even has the decency to step into the background and inform Sheppard that the situation is under control, while he practically rushes into the cell.

Not wasting any time or words, he simply gets down beside Laura and engulfs her in a tight hug. He doesn't even realize how the room fills with the rest of the rescue team. The only thing on his mind is now the barely conscious woman in his arms, and hearing her whisper: "Good call, Evan. Sorry… sorry for disappointing you." God, she didn't, but suddenly his throat is too raw to speak and so he just has to press a kiss to her cheek, if not to her lips, which is when he realizes how hot her skin is. Horrified, he turns back to the room, searching for Keller and finding her kneeling directly beside him.

"Whoa, Doc, she's burning up."

Keller, being a professional and saying nothing about what she just witnessed, simply nods and says: "Told you the two grazes have become inflamed."

It's this moment Sheppard decides taking charge again – he'll probably be forever thankful to his CO for not interrupting his reunion with Laura – and gives out his orders. "Alright, Meyers, help the Doc with emergency treatment, Ronon, you take Cadman when they're done, Major, take point with your team, Teyla and I cover our six. Move it, people."

Keller and Meyers get to work on Laura, while he has moved to hold her and calm her down with a few well-placed discrete touches. He sneaks a glance towards Simmons and McPherson who have arrived only a week ago and aren't quite familiar with the story between Laura and him – they probably know about the nature of their relationship and might have heard bits and pieces about how it happened, but they didn't know him before that, and now he's afraid of what they might think about him. He doesn't want to, but he knows he somehow has to talk about this subject with the two of them, if he wants them to respect him.

After only a few minutes, the two medics are done with Laura, and reluctantly he moves away to let Ronon take her up, while Teyla gives him back his weapons she has found on the floor outside the cell. It's his clue to signal Simmons and Meyers to be the first pair and then pairs himself with McPherson to form the second point. Behind him, the rest get moving. After the first corner, Meyers turns around, a look on his face saying that he just had an idea he deems noteworthy. "What is it, Sergeant?"

"They've totally mined the complex and the resistance was comparatively low, sir. That says that they were prepared to lose it anyway. I guess there's nothing worth mentioning here anymore. I was thinking… we should give them their explosion and make them believe they actually got us. All I need are two or three packs of C4 placed strategically." He looks back at Sheppard and the Colonel nods.

"Do it, Sergeant. Good thinking." The momentarily gleaming in Meyers' eyes says "What would you do without us Sergeants, huh?" and then he places the first pack of C4 and a remote detonator on the wall. And _then_ they finally set off for Atlantis. But secretly he vows to hunt these guys down, and if it's the last thing he ever does. Teyla may get the shot at Michael when they catch him, but _he_ wants to reserve the prerogative to shoot this Genii.

* * *

**A/N:** Ye-es, finally a rescue! So... how many of you did hold their breath until the bomb was disabled? :D And btw, it's nearly 3 a.m. over here and I had a very interesting discussion with my sister going on while proofreading this, so please everyone bear with any typos or weird grammar :S Oh, and something else: This chapter actually is **Asugar's** fault ;) Okay... honestly: I had something else written, but I wasn't really satisfied with (i.e. I absolutely hated it) and it was Asugar's comment about wanting to see the actual disabling that finally sparked the right idea how to change the chapter. Thank you very much for that.


	16. Fifteen

**Fifteen**

And it's a night at the infirmary. Again. At least this time she didn't need major surgery, but he thinks that in a strange way he would have rather preferred this to her current condition. Surgery means that there was a problem that can be fixed with some handiwork, something where the doctors know what's wrong and can immediately repair it with their own hands. A fever after an inflamed wound though... that's something no one but her can really fix. Sure, they can medicate her, support her body, but when everything's said and done, it's her alone who can fight it off.

So after administering everything they could and hooking her up to the screens, all Carson Beckett had done was tell him to wipe her forehead now and then and give it some time. He'd refrained from telling him to go to bed, as well as Sheppard and Woolsey, because by now they all know it's futile anyway and had left the ICU with an encouraging squeeze to his shoulder. Since then he's been sitting here, for a seemingly endless time, watching her sweat it off, now breathing shallow, then breathing labored. He's brought some of his paperwork with him, but up to now he hasn't touched a single sheet of paper.

He's taken to taking her hand now and then and running his thumb along her knuckles, brushing away those two wisps of hair from her face that just won't stay out of it and constantly checking her vitals. The personnel that is on duty this night have chosen to leave the two of them alone and so it's very quiet around him. Which is why he registers the slight shuffling of feet on the infirmary's floor, even though it's just really very faint. He looks up... and is a bit surprised to see one First Sergeant Will Meyers stand in the doorway, looking ready to bolt at any moment. Huh?

"Uh... I just... wanted to..." A little embarrassed, the Sergeant rubs his neck. It occurs to him that he isn't the only one worrying about Laura enough to sacrifice some sleep. Well... who would have thought? His first reaction is to send the Sergeant off to bed, simply because all of them have a pretty tough time behind them, but then he thinks that it would be unfair to the Sergeant to deny him the possibility to see for himself how his friend is doing. He sighs.

"Sergeant... if you want to sit down... just do it. I don't bite." Meyers, usually the epitome of self-assuredness and nonchalance, smiles a little nervously, but eventually draws a chair to the other side of Laura's bed and sits down.

"Thank you, sir." For a few moments, neither of them says anything, but before the silence gets too uncomfortable, he decides to break it.

"Great work today, Sergeant. And nice fireworks. The Lieutenant would have been impressed." Meyers smirks.

"Thanks, sir. But I think the Lieutenant would have been rather _pissed_ that someone else got to play with her little goodies." Come to think of it… yes. So he better shouldn't tell her just how _big_ the final explosion had been. Lately, the only work related to her actual expertise had been done in labs and on computers, not in the field.

"Well… yeah, alright, you may have a point there, Sergeant." Meyers just shrugs, maintaining a cool façade, although he's positive that underneath that the Sergeant is smirking and thinking "'Course I'm right. That's Lieutenant Laura "Fire in the hole!" Cadman we're talking about here." He chooses not to comment any further on this and decides to change the topic instead. "You know, technically you're not supposed to know about this yet, but... your request for the transfer of your wife just got approved."

He shortly thinks about telling Meyers that this was mainly due to his own hell of a recommendation, but decides against it. He doesn't want the Sergeant to feel grateful to him, because it's really enough that he still might think he's failed him and Laura, even after everything. That's already enough awkwardness.

Meyers, on the other side of the bed, has gotten back a little of his usual bearing and flashes him a grin. "Thanks for telling me anyway, sir. She's gonna love it here."

"I hope so. You're going to be one of the first married couples to serve here, by the way. That'll probably make you major celebrities." That prompts a minor laugh from the Sergeant.

"Well then, good for you and the Lieutenant, sir." The Sergeant does sound a little smug now. He simply raises his eyebrows. Usually that serves very well to intimidate the junior officers – well, maybe apart from Laura, that is – and NCOs, but Meyers merely shrugs. "Come on, don't tell me that you don't have a clue about all the talk going on about you two." Another eyebrow raising. "Uh... come on, _sir_?"

Before he can answer, Laura suddenly stirs, whimpering a little in her sleep and he gets up and tenderly wipes her forehead with the damp cloth one of the nurses left him, like Carson has instructed him to. The fever still hasn't broken, and that worries him immensely. So to distract himself from this – and distract the Sergeant from probably feeling embarrassed by such a private display – he says: "It may surprise you, but... I do think I'm not fully up to date with "all the talk going on about us two". Care to enlighten me?" That is, of course, not wholly truthful. Of course he knows that people are talking about them, but originally he'd chosen to turn a blind eye on it and simply ignore it. But if he's honest... he'd love to know at least a little bit of that.

"Uh... well, you know... it's not _that_ interesting..." Read: It's right up there with the talking going round about John Sheppard and Teyla Emmagan and the triangle of Jennifer Keller, Ronon Dex and Rodney McKay in the base's gossip charts and that's really saying something.

"Well then it shouldn't be a problem telling me, right?" Now, that's a sight to see. Cool and relaxed poker-face Will Meyers squirming in his seat, trying to think up a way of getting his CO off the track he just set him on himself.

"Um... promise me not to shoot the messenger for the message, sir?" What just happened to "not _that_ interesting"?

He sits back and discreetly takes Laura's ice-cold hand in his, because he feels like he needs to keep her from slipping away from him but doesn't want Meyers to see how much he actually worries for Laura. "Sure." Then, as an afterthought: "And what exactly is it about me that seems to make you afraid of me killing you, Sergeant?"

"Your authoritarian and intimidating nature, sir? Together with your impressive height, of course." Whoa, that's... quite some comeback, considering Meyers is at least a foot taller than himself. And why the hell do they all have to pick on his size today? He probably should stop this if he doesn't want to lose all of his standing with the NCOs, but now he's starting to get really interested in the stuff his subordinates are talking about behind his back.

"Getting cheeky will not get you out of telling me about this gossip-stuff, Sergeant. In fact, I may have to use that against you if you don't stop playing hard to get." Laura's hand in his seems to have grown even colder and he finds himself squeezing it a little tighter, silently begging her to stay with him and fight the fever that's still raging through her body. Come on, he thinks, you didn't defy those lunatics just to succumb to such a pesky little thing like fever. Opposite from him Meyers' thoughts seem to mirror his own, because for just a second or two, his face is scrunched in worry over the Lieutenant he considers a friend, no matter if she's his superior or not.

But obviously he has decided to keep playing along the "Let's pretend there's nothing wrong."-game. "Alright, fine... but don't say I didn't warn you. Anyway... mostly you're alternately admired and pitied for either having gotten into Laura Cadman's pa... conquered Laura Cadman's heart or having to put up with that volati... _sparky_ temper of hers." Whoa. Sometimes there are things you realize you didn't really want to hear after you just did, and this is one of them, mostly because it isn't really helping him in getting a grip on his occasional bouts of jealousy. But he really brought that onto himself, so he probably should just keep his mouth shut now and remember that it's quite natural for a woman like Laura to draw some male attention.

"Better not tell that to the Lieutenant's face, Sergeant. She's a bit touchy on the subject or her temper." In fact, he knows she's trying to tie it back and work on thinking before acting, but if he's honest: He loves her temper just the way it is.

"No kidding. By the way, I've heard a couple of Marine and Air Force girls envying her for managing to drag you to her be... attracting your interest. Sir." He wonders if Meyers does these Freudian slips intentionally, probably to tell him what is said about them without really telling him too much. "Anyway... I've also heard quite a lot people who are kind of thankful that it happened because it reassured them that their superiors are still human despite their splendid service records and spotless combat performance. I mean, not that _I_ ever doubted that you or the Lieutenant are anything else than living breathing human beings, but you know... _some _people..."

Meyers lets the sentence trail out, and he doesn't have to say anything more, anyway, because he knows that some people _are_ suspecting him to be some kind of Replicator, simply unable to do anything wrong on duty as well as off-duty. But to be honest: The first time he realized this, he was absolutely astounded that obviously no one apart from Laura ever noticed that he is often enough second-guessing decisions or blaming himself for a mission gone wrong, and that of course there have been as much screw-ups in his off-duty life as in anyone else's life.

"Oh, and… don't worry about Lieutenant Simmons and Sergeant McPherson, sir." He raises his eyebrows.

"Sergeant… what did you say to them?" He isn't quite sure if he really wants to know, because the Sergeant has the decency to look sheepish.

"Oh, the only thing I did was telling Lieutenant Simmons that I didn't think it a wise move to voice his disapproval of you with nearly half the Atlantis officer corps in ear shot. They really hold you and the Lieutenant in the highest respect." He… doesn't believe this. Meyers obviously managed to teach Simmons a lesson about respecting his CO without actually having to do anything.

"Do I really want to know, Sergeant?" Now Meyers grins openly at him.

"Probably not. But you may expect an apology from Lieutenant Simmons in the next future." An apology for something the Lieutenant never actually said to his face. He's not sure if he should get rid of Meyers or request him as a substitute for Albright, who just told them he'll quit his tour on Atlantis for personal reasons. An apology… he still doesn't really believe it.

Which brings him back to the woman in the bed beside him who's still fighting a fever and whom he let go on this wretched mission without telling her sorry for throwing unjustified accusations at her. Sure, he's told her he's sorry right after they found her and she let him, but... she'd already been fever-ridden, and there's still the fear that she never actually got that apology in the first place nagging at him. "Sir... permission to speak on a private level?" He raises his eyebrows. What's this going to be about?

"Sure, go ahead, Sergeant." Meyers nods, but takes his time.

Then: "Hope you don't deem this invading your privacy, but... I couldn't help overhearing you back in that cell and... I'm sure the Lieutenant got your apology just as it was meant. And... she's a tough cookie, even for a Marine. Never seen 5' 5'' so full of energy and willpower. She'll brush this off faster than you can spell antipyretic, sir." Yes. Of course. She just _has_ to. It's just a fever, and they have the best doctors and the best equipment of the galaxy – probably of _two_ galaxies – here, so there just isn't any other option for her than to pull through.

And still... her paleness and the coldness of her hand in his and the sweat glistening on her forehead and the labored breathing... it's tugging at his heartstrings. He takes a deep breath. "Yeah, I know. But... thank you for the encouragement anyway, Sergeant."

The Sergeant nods, obviously relieved that he hasn't been busted back to Private for his boldness. Then he says: "You're welcome, sir. Anyway... what'd you bring to read this time?" What the...? The bewilderment must have shown pretty clearly on his face, because Meyers grins a little. "Hey, it's your trademark, sir. Whenever one of you's lying in a bed in the infirmary, the other one's bound to show up there with a book sooner or later. There are already bets running what'll be the next book... and some of the guys have actually started a recommendation list on the intranet, kinda like a BOTC."

That... for a moment, he considers immediately go looking for this list on the intranet and surprising them all with telling them that their little secret operation has just been busted, but then he simply huffs and leans forward to grab the book that's already lying on Laura's nightstand, ready to be opened the moment she's conscious again. He holds it up for Meyers to see the cover, with the words: "Found it on her nightstand in her quarters. Looked really battered and... there's a little note from her mother inside. So I figured it's one of her favorites."

""Little Women", huh? Funny. It's one of Jessi's favorites as well. Would have never thought, though, that the Lieutenant would be into that kind of books." He looks questioningly at the Sergeant. "Uh... she's that "one of the guys" kind of girl, you know. That kind of girl who doesn't like any of the girly stuff and that book... not exactly chick lit, but... uh... not what I thought the Lieutenant might enjoy." Well, that's Laura Cadman for you, he thinks. Always surprising you when you least expect it.

"Again something I'd rather keep quiet about it if I were you... she doesn't like it when someone uncovers one of her little secrets." Actually... this book is not the most delicate little secret. He remembers all too well the item she'd thrown at him when he'd been teasing her shortly after arriving back on Atlantis – he'd been delighted to see it in a quite different location shortly after kissing her the first time – and he also remembers the worn teddy bear he's seen tugged away under her covers when he'd been in her quarters after their unsuccessful questioning trip to the planet where they abducted her.

He'd briefly considered bringing it here with him, but then he got the distinct feeling that it wouldn't go with the image Laura tries to project of herself and had refrained from doing it. It would have meant overstepping boundaries, and he's done enough of that already.

"I'll be as silent as a grave, sir, if only for sheer self-preservation alone." Meyers delivers that line with an absolute straight face, and he's not quite sure how much of that is actually meant seriously.

"You better, Sergeant." Now they share a mutual grin, and he's surprised to discover that Laura's breathing has evened out considerably and that her hand... doesn't feel as clammy as before. Carefully, he brushes his hand over her forehead and while it's still damp with sweat it doesn't feel as hot as before. The fever's not gone completely, but to him it seems like the worst is over now. But hey, he's got a trained medic sitting opposite of him. "Uh, Sergeant... mind checking the Lieutenant's temperature? Seems to me she improved a little."

"She... did. And she would prefer if you two... could shut up... for a while... and let her sleep in peace." He's so startled by this that he actually jumps a little at hearing the sound of her low raspy voice.

"I second the Lieutenant's assessment, sir. Scanners say her temperature dropped from critical to simply elevated.", Meyers adds matter-of-factly. If he'd looked at the Sergeant, he'd have seen a smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth, but he simply can't take his gaze off Laura's barely opened eyes and the weak frown on her face. It's about the most beautiful sight he can imagine in that moment, and so he just barely registers Meyers murmuring "Yeah, well, gotta get some sleep anyway. Gonna leave you two alone now, huh." and silently excusing himself from the room.

"That's... more like it." Her voice is still sounding strained, like she really needs to make an effort to speak.

He simply squeezes her hand and says in an equally low voice: "Stop talking, Lieutenant, and go back to sleep. I'll make sure no one will come and bother you." He's a little surprised that he suddenly feels his throat constrict with a million emotions ranging from relief to remorse at the sight of the little smile appearing on her face.

"Yes, sir." It makes him press a kiss to her forehead as she closes her eyes again.

When he's sure that she's fallen asleep again, he can't help breathing: "Just so you know: 'Love you, Laura Cadman." A minute later he's fallen asleep himself, and so he never sees the small knowing smile that grazes her face in return to his confession.

* * *

**A/N:** Well then, Germany's national holiday (as in _the _national holiday... think July 4th in the U.S.) is over, and I have successfully helped my parents clean their place (BTW, whose idea was it to do the cleaning on a _national holiday_?), baked a carrot cake (my first one _ever_), proofread this chapter and managed to finally get on with "Minor Characters" (I daresay you may expect a new chapter in the next two days). That's quite an achievement for a day were I expected to be lying around on the couch and do nothing but watching TV and doing some writing, isn't it?

Oh, and there are still two more chapters to come, because remember: There are still some issues that need to be taken care of ;)


	17. Sixteen

**Sixteen**

"Hello, Laura. Look who wanted to come and visit you." She opens her eyes and smiles at the pair entering her room in the infirmary. It's Teyla with Torren in her arms. She wants to sit up, but her broken wrist is still giving her troubles and for some stupid reason even after three days it's taking her quite some effort to do such simple things as sitting up or keeping her eyes open for longer than a few minutes.

Teyla knows of her troubles and sits down beside her bed, without saying something. "Did Evan send you to keep me company while he's away?"

"Denial is not an option, I take it?", Teyla asks and smiles a little ruefully. "Do not be cross with him. And do not think I need someone asking me to visit you."

"I don't. Honestly. It's nice of you to come around. Although I'm a little sad to say holding Torren is still out of question." And she actually would love to do that. After her first try she'd found that it wasn't as bad as she thought it would, and she had really wanted to give it a second try.

"Do not worry. And look at that instead." With that, she seats Torren down on the bed, where the little guy actually… stays sitting on his own. She manages a bright smile at the baby's improvement.

"Oh, that's great, isn't it? Your baby is growing up! Turn around and before you know it he'll introduce his first girlfriend to you." Teyla smiles the knowing half-smile.

"You mean the one he just "holds hands with"?" She has to snort and then giggle. Meyers should never have told them that. It'll be forever subject to teasing and laughing.

"That's the one." Torren smiles at the sound of the two women laughing and then moves to crawl a little towards her. Obviously, growing up didn't diminish his interest in her hair as he already reaches out to touch it. Teyla reacts fast and pulls him back.

"Oh no, young man. I know someone who would not be amused at you touching his lady's hair." That makes her snort again.

"Actually… I think he'd let it pass. Evan loves kids." She rolls her eyes. "Should hear him talking about his nephews."

Teyla smiles and tries to distract Torren with a toy from crawling up to her again. "I did." Then she looks back at her, with earnestness and happiness for her in her eyes. "He will make a great father."

A great father. Yes… yes, that he would be. She just isn't sure if _she_ would make a great _mother_. She looks away. "I think it's a little early talking about that." Teyla obviously senses that this is something she doesn't want to think about right now.

"I agree. You should really take your time with it. And you should be patient with your injuries as well." She makes a face.

"That obvious, huh?" Teyla shrugs apologetic.

"You are a soldier, Laura. Soldiers never like being held down by injuries." Too true. Still doesn't help her much with her current situation. But at least this is the first day where she's able to hold her eyes open for more than just ten minutes and doesn't fall asleep every two hours. Baby steps, she thinks. Be satisfied with small improvements.

"Yeah, that's what we've got doctors for. To tie us to our beds if they have to." Not that _she_ needs any tying down at the moment. The grazes on her thigh may be healing fast, but that broken ankle is going to bother her for longer than just a few days, like Jennifer already predicted.

"Ah, look who's awake enough to complain." Teyla and her turn around to see Colonel Sheppard enter the room. She thinks she remembers him coming around once or twice in the last few days and him having some conversation with Evan at her bedside about both of them being wrong about something concerning the mission… and something about "finding him, no matter how far he runs", but that could have been her imagination as well. She's been on heavy medication to counter the effects of the bacteria she caught on M5K-758, and that's been messing around with her head.

"Not complaining, sir. Just stating a few facts." He smirks.

"Sure." Then he turns towards Teyla and Torren who's still sitting on her bed. "But I see you have some entertainment to keep you from becoming too miserable." Teyla smiles back at him, and once again she has this feeling that there's more to the two of them than they all think. One day, she thinks, she's going to get up the nerve to ask Teyla straight to her face what exactly is going on… just not today.

"Yep. Nothing like a baby to take your mind off the fact that you'll have to stick to computers and lab experiments for an extended period of time." Which is exactly what will await her once the after-effects from the infection have subsided enough that Jennifer or Carson will clear her at least for light duty.

"Oh, again I know _someone_ who will not be too disappointed about this.", Teyla chimes in and that makes her roll her eyes and smirk back.

"Believe me, if he could he'd have me back on full duty tomorrow. He _knows_ he's the one going to having to live with an explosion-deprived Lieutenant." That prompts a chuckle from Sheppard. The Colonel probably just had an image in his mind of how much poor Evan has to suffer from her crankiness. But that would just be decent payback for Evan's own attempt at working himself to death.

Before Sheppard can answer, they are interrupted by Kanaan radioing Teyla about some problem or other. She excuses herself, and for a moment there's this strange look of disapproval on Sheppard's face again… and is that guilt or maybe shame in Teyla's eyes? What the _hell_'s going on here, she wonders. She always thought that if there were _any_ feelings in this, they were purely on Sheppard's side and that Teyla was happy with Kanaan, but that… looked like a whole different story. Better not think too deeply about this, she advises herself. That would just get her some really unpleasant headaches.

When Teyla is gone, Sheppard clears his throat and says: "Well… there's a reason I came here." She raises her eyebrow. What the hell is this about? "Mr. Woolsey and I… we just finished analysing the video footage from your cell." Oh _no_. Alright, so theoretically she knew they were of course having a look at that, but… God, this is just this side of embarrassing. "And that was… one hell of a performance." Huh? Where does that come from? Did they see something completely different than she remembers? "Which made us put your file on top of those we just sent back to the promotion board for recommendation."

That… throws her a little off-course. Usually, she has every confidence in her own skills and knows how to evaluate her performance correctly, but obviously… she made a huge mistake this time. "I… thank you, sir."

He shrugs and gives her a friendly smile. "You're welcome. You earned it, Lieutenant."

She knows she's probably blushing, and that irritates her. It's not like she's ever had difficulties accepting praise from superior officer, but somehow… the tone in Sheppard's voice isn't just that of a CO congratulating a junior officer… it sounds a bit like that of friend as well. She swallows. "Oh, that… that means a lot coming from you, sir."

Sheppard looks a little taken aback now. "Huh? Who the hell are you and what have you done to Lieutenant Cadman?"

She wants to answer, but a voice from the door beats her to it. "Don't worry, John. I'm sure she'll be back to her usual disrespectful self in one or two days."

That statement is followed by a relaxed-looking Evan sauntering into the room with his hands in his pockets, so very different from the man from before that last mission. Involuntarily, she has to smile, but she still needs a comeback for that. "Just wait those one or two days and I'll give you disrespectful."

He grins at her. "Can't wait for it. Although I think the docs won't be very partial to that." As he comes to stand beside her bed, he takes the liberty of bending down and giving her a soft kiss on the forehead, quietly saying: "Good to have you back, Buttercup." Immediately, she wants him to wrap her in his arms, like he did back in that cell when they had finally found her. She doesn't remember much from that, but she'll probably never forget the relief that her absolute certainty that her farm boy would come and rescue her hadn't simply been born out of her fever.

But there's still their CO standing in the same room with them. Who just cleared his throat. "I'll just pretend I didn't see that, because I've got one of my generous days today."

Evan at least has the decency to blush. "I appreciate that."

She feels compelled to add something. "_We_ appreciate that, sir."

"Yeah, well, I think I should go now, so I won't have to pretend seeing any more PDAs or… other improper stuff. Oh, and Evan, don't forget to give me those performance evaluations on Walter's and Teldy's teams tomorrow." That was a low blow, reminding Evan of his work when he's just about to spend little spare time at the bedside of his sick girlfriend. But they both know that he deserved that.

So he just says: "Will do.", and she's sure he means that. Hopefully he's already done with the reports, because otherwise it'll probably mean another working night.

Sheppard simply nods and exits the room. When he's left, Evan sits down beside her, and she makes the effort to take his hand. "_That_, Major Lorne, was mighty stupid."

She's already prepared for him starting a fight about this, stating he could very well decide when to kiss his girlfriend himself and telling her off for calling him stupid… but he simply takes up her hand in his, leaning his forehead against it and then pressing a short kiss on it. "I know. But there's almost a week of worrying for you behind me."

It touches her and she moves to lightly run her hand over his hair. In an effort to soothe him, she says: "Hey, you'll get used to it."

But it doesn't have the desired effect. Instead he shakes his head and states firmly: "No. And I don't want to."

The conviction in that startles her a little, and she gently reminds him: "You've got a job to do, you know."

He leans back, her hand again on the bed, but still covered by his. With the other one, he rubs over his face and finally answers: "Yeah, and I can push it back, stamp it down… but I won't get used to it. The day I get used to being worried sick about you whenever you go off-world… I know something's seriously wrong."

She's never seen it like this. To her, his tendency to brood and worry and simply think too much has always felt a little like patronizing when it was about her. Like he thought that as the older and more experienced one he had to take care that she wouldn't get into too much scrapes with her youthful enthusiasm. But she never even got the idea that it was rather an expression of his feelings for her.

She sighs. Suddenly she wants to know if this was the case with his paperwork as well or if there was yet another reason. "Why didn't you let me help you, Evan?"

If he's startled by the sudden change of topic, he doesn't show it, simply says: "Because… if this doesn't work… I don't want _your_ career to be on the line as well. If Sheppard and I don't get Woolsey to convince the I.O.A… there might very well roll some heads, and I don't want yours to be one of them." Ah. So that _really_ was about protecting her. But somehow it doesn't aggravate her so much anymore, because she now has the feeling that he's doing it because he cares for her and doesn't want to see her unhappy, not because he thinks she can't take care of herself.

Still… "That's all very noble and stuff… but I'm a 28-year-old Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps. Don't you think I earned the right to risk my career wherever and whenever and for whomever I bloody want to? Evan… don't fight my battles, and don't make my decisions."

At first, he wants to contradict her, she can see that. But then he realizes that she's right. Probably, because deep down he's known this all along for quite some time now. "Alright. I just… I won't, I promise. If you promise not to try and fight out everything with yourself."

Well… and deep down _she's_ known he's right with that for quite some time now. She does have a tendency to keep things to herself, not let him in, sidestepping serious issues bothering her… and wanting to solve everything on her own, no matter how high the odds are. But if there's any mission that ever taught her she can't always do that, it was the last. She shortly closes her eyes. "I promise." Then she's finally fed up with serious talking for today, and she adds: "So… by the way… did you already pay the round you owe Meyers?"

He already looks a little grumpy, probably because he has a suspicion where she wants to go with this. "Of course. And I wrote him a hell of a recommendation. Satisfied?"

She nods. "Absolutely. Although you might probably have to pay him another round. I don't think it would be too good for you if he happens to blab about zoomies who doubt a Marine's natural invincibility."

"We'll talk about that "invincibility" next time we're in the work-out room." Despite his slightly haughty tone, he looks like he knows very well that she's right.

She knows she should be stopping here, but she can't resist the temptation and has to rub it in even a little deeper. "You know what I've been wondering about for the last few days… isn't Meyers a _medic_? Did someone teach him all that explosives stuff?"

Now he looks more than just a little disgruntled, because she hit right home. "Alright, Lieutenant, you made your point. No reason to be so smug now."

She grins. "Oh, there's _every_ reason to be smug."

"Okay… say it.", he concedes rolling his eyes, already knowing what'll come now.

And she says it with all the smugness she deserves. "Marine instructors are simply the _best_."

"Laura… this might come as a shock now, but… you have no idea how much I wanted to hear you saying that." Oh, now, after everything, she thinks she has _every_ idea how much he wanted that. But she refrains from telling him, because what she really wants to do now is kiss him. That will have to wait until sitting up stops making her dizzy and short-breathed, though, and so she changes the topic again.

"Well then, now that you got your wish… how about getting me my wish and keep to a dear old tradition?" He chuckles and pulls out a book from the stack of documents he left behind on her nightstand.

"With pleasure." With that he opens the book she isn't quite sure how it found its way to her bed in the infirmary, and the sound of his voice reading makes her forget all about ankles and cells and fevers.

* * *

**A/N:** I just _bet_I know who had some difficulties with this chapter :D And don't forget, there's still the epilogue to come.


	18. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

"_I don't know how to make lots of money  
I don't know all the right things to do  
I can't say where we'll go, but the one thing I know  
Is how to be a good man to you  
Until I die that's what I'll do."_

_Plain White T's, "Write you a song"_

Maybe… maybe that hadn't been such a good idea after all, but now that she's here, complaining about it is useless, anyway. And she can't go back either, because getting _here_ has already strained her more than she likes to admit. But she simply couldn't stay in the infirmary anymore. The after-effects of the infection are almost gone now after four more days, with no lingering bacteria whatsoever in her blood and the grazes are mostly healed. The only things _really_ bothering her are her wrist and her ankle, and she doesn't have to stay in the infirmary for _them_ to heal.

But if she's honest, the main reason for desperately wanting to get out of the infirmary had been that she wanted to be close to Evan again, without having to watch over her shoulder every time one of them so much as caresses the other one. She also has finally worked up the courage to keep to her part of their deal, and she can't do that in the infirmary. But it's just fair, because only a day after their first real talk, Evan had started to sort through this non-frat paperwork on her bed and had, without any further ado, simply accepted – even asked for – her help when she had given him her input.

He has also told her that they are still searching for Alton and even found a few survivors of Hamrash's traders. The relief in his eyes had tugged at her heartstrings, and talking to Teyla had revealed to her that he still feels somehow guilty for what happened. She had asked Teyla what she could possibly do to make him feel better, but all Teyla had said with a wise look at her had been "He has everything he needs. Just give it time." It had made her want to be alone with him even harder.

So the moment Jennifer had declared her germs-free, she had started to pester and bugger and cajole the doctor to let her go. It had ended with her solemnly promising Jennifer that she wouldn't do anything more than get to Evan's quarters, sit down on his bed and wait for him to come back from his day on the mainland today and keep from anything more strenuous than reading and writing and sleeping for the next three days.

And now she sits here and waits for him. She knows that he likes to get back to his quarters, have a shower and generally unwind a little before coming down to the infirmary to her, and she uses that to surprise him. But so far, he hasn't appeared, and she's starting to get a little drowsy after her Herculanean efforts to get here.

Which is why, in the end, _both_ of them are a little startled when he finally enters his quarters. "Whoa, Laura! What the hell are you doing here? Scared the living daylights out of me."

She needs a few moments to become fully awake and register where she is. Sleepily she answers: "How the hell did you get promoted to Major at your age when a simple Lieutenant in your bed scares you, huh?"

Now grinning, he sits down on the bed. His hair is all messed up and wet and his BDUs are mud-stained, as are his boots. There's some dried mud on his face as well. Seems to have been quite the hard day on the mainland. "You know, there was a time when a Lieutenant in my bed could have cost me that promotion." With that, he bends over to her and gives her the first real kiss in over a week. Not caring a bit about getting her share of his muddy and wet BDUs, she responds eagerly, instantly knowing why she really needed to get out of the infirmary.

When he lets go after what seems like an eternity she can't hold back a smug grin and says: "Thank God those times are coming to an end." Then she takes in his ruffled form again and adds with frown: "And what the hell have you been doing on the mainland? Mud wrestling?"

"Let's just say… I whipped my new team into shape. There was a lot of rain involved, too." She can imagine the whipping he gave his new soldiers. Simmons and McPherson were surely in for the survival exercise of their lives. And Meyers probably had fun seeing the new guys get their first real taste of their new CO.

"Yeah, I can see _that_. Hope you left them all in one piece." Especially Simmons, who seems to have drawn quite the negative attention from various members of the Atlantis officer corps, including Maureen Reece, Thomas Moore, Matthias Morsberg and various other long-term military expedition members. According to Meyers, even some of the NCOs and enlisted seem to have taken great offence in something he must have said about Evan in the mess hall.

"Don't worry, they can still crawl… at least to their quarters. I think." Is that righteous satisfaction she hears in his voice? "Anyway, I think I deserve a shower now." He stands up again, and she simply can't resist saying it.

"More like you _need_ a shower, Major Mudball." At the door of the shower, he half turns around again and gives her a suggestive grin.

"Wanna join me?" Her only answer is a cushion right in his face, and his laughter even goes on after he's disappeared into his bathroom.

When he's done, she has already managed to crawl under the covers and carefully curled up on her left side. He lies down to face her, with his head propped up on his arm. His other hand moves to put a strand of hair behind her ear and after a short kiss he asks: "Do I really want to know how you got out of the infirmary?"

"Well… I didn't threaten Jennifer, if that's what you're worried about." He makes a show of being relieved, which prompts her to stick out her tongue at him. That, in turn, results in another kiss. Obviously she wasn't the only one eager for a little bit more physical contact than holding hands and the odd hidden kiss on the forehead here and there.

"Is there a particular reason to your escape? Other than feeling deprived of my comfortable bed, I mean." God, she loves it when he's so full of himself. But she'd _never_ tell him, because then she'd never hear the end of it.

"Actually… yes. There are some things I'd like to talk about and… the infirmary didn't seem to be the best place for it." For a moment, she can see genuine anxiousness cross his face and realizes that this just sounded like she was thinking about breaking up or some other uncomfortable truths and she hurries to soothe away the frown. "Hey, relax. I was just talking about these issues I like to run away from, as you pointed out."

But the frown doesn't really disappear. It just changes into regret and a bit of shame. "I'm sorry I ever said that. It was uncalled for and I didn't have the right to…"

With a kiss she silences him. "Don't. You were right about that, and someone really needed to confront me with it. So… I'm here to tell you a few things I shouldn't hold back from you."

She's positive that he is about to tell her that he's fine with her not telling him and that he never wanted to pressure her into something, but then he obviously remembers that thing about Marines and setting their mind on something and he concedes with a sigh: "Alright. You won't change your mind anyway."

Nope, she won't. But before that she has another question that's been burning in her mind for quite some time now. "Evan… can I ask you something first?"

He's a little wary, but eventually says: "Sure. Shoot."

"Okay… Do you really think each and every guy I come across here is a danger to you?"

His face tells her she's hit right home and that he even feels kind of caught. Huh. That's quite different from his reaction to her suspecting him to be jealous a few days ago. Then he saves at least a bit of his dignity with quipping: "Well… not every guy. Let me think of some exceptions… Zelenka, McKay, Woolsey… yeah, that's about it."

He chuckles, but she isn't amused. She punches him lightly in the shoulder with her plaster-casted right hand. "Idiot! If I'd feel like this about every woman that makes googly eyes at you, I'd not be thinking about _anything_ else."

Rubbing his shoulder with a mock hurt impression he huffs: "You keep telling me that, but I still don't believe it."

She rolls her eyes. "Don't tell me you don't even notice them."

"Notice _what_?" The expression of being totally clueless on his face is genuine, and that'll probably never cease to amaze her.

"The looks, the smiles, the whole nine yards! Just two days ago, Nurse Antonova was _so_ trying to have a go at you in the infirmary." And it's true. The Russian had pretended to come in and check her vitals or something, but what she had really done was trying to catch Evan's attention with flashing bright smiles at him and giving him smoldering looks that even rivaled any looks from "Doctor Zhivago". She had been nearly ready to tell that ersatz-Lara to stay the hell away from her Major.

But Evan simply denies everything, and in all earnestness. "What? No! She was just… I don't even know what she was doing because I don't _remember_ her."

The almost desperate expression on his face borders on comical and even elicits a little laugh from her. "I'm not kidding. She was trying to have a go at you. At _my_ bedside. You can't be _that_ oblivious!"

"Hey, I didn't even _see_ her!"

The funny thing is: She actually believes him. But she just can't resist needling him a little further. "Yeah, sure."

"No, I really didn't. I was looking at you, Laura. I don't see any other women when I'm with you." Oh. And suddenly she gets more than she bargained for.

The honesty and conviction in his voice make her speechless for a moment, and all she gets out is a simple: "I…"

Very seriously now, he moves over to her to put a strand of her hair behind her ear again and this time his hand keeps lingering in the crook of her neck, warm and dry and giving her all kinds of strange feelings. "I don't even really see them when I'm _not_ with you. There really isn't any other woman interesting me, Laura."

That's her opening. Maybe _now_ she can drive her own point home. Quietly and equally serious she says: "And then what gives you the very stupid idea _I_ might be even remotely interested in any other guys?"

He moves a little nearer to her and now their faces nearly touch. Which is why even with only the moonlight brightening up the room, she can see in his eyes that he finally understands that he doesn't have to be afraid of _any_ other guy endangering his place in her heart. A little defeated he simply replies: "Point taken, Buttercup."

She smiles, relieved that she could finally erase the doubt in his heart that must have been there for so long now. "I hope so, farm boy."

Very carefully, he puts an arm around her waist and draws her to him, to close the last few inches of space between them. The other arm he extends under her head so that it serves as a pillow for her. For a moment she closes her eyes and lets herself be surrounded by the scent of him and the feel of his skin on hers and the sense of safety that got her through those horrible hours after Jennifer's escape engulfs her again. Only now is she ready to talk to him about what must be haunting him ever since their last mission together.

"You sure you're not too tired for some more talk?" She opens her eyes again.

"Absolutely. I've been sleeping for the majority of the whole last week. That should last me until next year. But, of course, if the mainland took its toll on you…" Not willing to let himself be bested by a jarhead, he puts on a very awake face.

"Never. Now… tell me some deep dark secrets?" He says it with a playful tone in his voice, but they both know that some of the things she's going to tell him _are_ dark in nature. But maybe she should herself consider lucky to have found someone who can handle them.

"Mh… yes. If _you_ tell me the deep dark secret that surrounds _this_." With that, she points to the tattoo on his right arm she's been wondering about ever since she saw it for the first time. He'd been willing to tell her the stories of his scars, but when she had asked about the broken Wings and the numbers tattooed on his arm, he'd quickly changed the topic, startling her enough to simply comply with it. Now she sees a second chance.

But it still surprises her when he, after a few moments of consideration, finally nods. "Guess it's only fair." Then it's settled. And so she tells him about her killing the lunatic back in the cave and what exactly happened when she had been alone with him and all the other things she has only told Dr. Obanashi until now. It's not easy for him listening to all of this, but when she tells him she kept all of this to herself because she didn't want to burden him with her nightmares, he just sighs and reminds her that he is a 35-year-old Major of the United States Air Force who thinks he has earned the right to decide with what he wants to burden himself.

Then he tells her that the tattoo has been there ever since the day he lost his first wingman, probably yet the worst day of his life. He still feels guilty for it, and the tattoo is meant to remind him of several things. For example that you can't keep some things from happening, no matter how hard you try. And that you have to get past them, accept them, but also should never forget them, learn from them. It's also there to remind him that military life means to have to cope with losses again and again, but to remember each and every lost comrade and friend individually and not allow oneself to let them blend into each other.

With the time going by, the talking gradually fades, and when she thinks that he has finally fallen asleep, she lifts her face from his chest and whispers with a smile: "Just so you know: 'Love you, too, Evan Lorne." She's not quite sure if she's just imagining it, but his mouth seems to curl into the tiniest of smiles. That smile alone, she thinks, is worth all the trouble she had to go through to come to this point. And another thought is coming to her. Yes… time. Time is all he needs for his own wounds to heal, and she is here to make sure he gets all the time in the world.

* * *

**A/N:** Whoa... whoa, I'm done with this. It's a minor miracle, considering that the Great Laptop Crisis caught me shortly after starting this story (and still isn't solved by the way... my laptop must have been sitting in Support for... four weeks or something now... I start to get the suspicion that _someone_ finds this extremly funny...) and that inbetween I honestly had some difficulties with continuing, because stuff just wouldn't make sense, didn't feel right, was lousily written... well, the usual.

As for the future of the "Protect and Survive"-universe... I've decided to work a bit more on my humorous side. I'm already done with a little two-parted "family vid"-piece (think "Letters from Pegasus"), for which I'm still lacking the song (anyone know some _nice_ and _optimistic_ stuff that has to do either with mail or letters or the whole complex of brothers and sisters/siblings/family? I'm really drawing a blank right now), which is a little... aggravating, because usually with me there's first the song quote and then the story, not the other way around... And I have my mind set on a nice little multichaptered piece that includes the phrase "So G.I. Joe is marrying Lara Croft. Wow, wedding of the year." by Rodney (remember, I like twists, so don't go for the first assumption you might have with that phrase ;)), for which I still need to figure out how to get started. Anyone interested in either of these projects?


End file.
